Rolls-Royce

6th-generation fighter takes shape in Lancashire

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British military systems manufacturer BAE Systems is beginning assembly of the sole demonstrator for the tri-national Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) crewed sixth-generation strike fighter. The programme, conceived a decade ago was finally given the green light by all three partners – the UK, Japan and Italy – two years ago.

Meanwhile, also early in June another planned tri-national (France, Germany and Spain) Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme involving Dassault and Airbus Military collapsed because the corporate and political parties to the plan could not agree on work-share and leadership. Germany’s president Friedrich Merz had also questioned whether a crewed aircraft was appropriate in a sophisticated artificial intelligence-directed future, and remarked that individual European states had different requirements.

As the planned European FCAS plan collapsed, the fuselage and aerostructures for the GCAS demonstrator were being put together at BAe’s plant in Samlesbury, Lancashire. The demonstrator will enable the company to trial GCAS’ advanced low-observable (LO) airframe characteristics, enabling them to identify design snags at a pre-production stage.

Later this year the work will be transferred to BAE’s nearby Warton plant where manufacture will take place. The company hopes to announce a demonstrator first flight in late 2027 or the following year. The aircraft’s Rolls-Royce EJ200 engines and its Martin-Baker crew escape system had previously completed testing.

Eight years ago, at the 2018 Farnborough Air Show, I attended a BAE presentation on the GCAS projected systems, and occupied the pilot station wearing a very smart helmet containing a futuristic virtual cockpit. I described the experience here, and predict what real military pilots will have at their fingertips. A pricipal justification for having a crewed aircraft in the age of accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) is just that: controlling AI output requires a human to be in the loop.

Learmount in BAE’s GCAS mock-up at Farnborough in 2018

In June this year FlightGlobal visited the Samlesbury site to witness BAE’s work. Tony Godbold, BAE’s delivery director for the UK’s broader Future Combat Air System (FCAS) effort, explained: “We are all excited to get this thing airborne, but safety and airworthiness certification is an absolute paramount for us to get right.” He says that the lessons learned though constructing and flying the demonstrator will shorten the time taken to production, and the length of the testing process. Operational service entry for the GCAS, to be called Tempest by the RAF, will be in 2035.

More detail about the GCAS programme is expected to be made public at the 20-24 July Farnborough Air Show.

The GCAS demonstrator shape emerges at Samlesbury

The RAF goes green

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With a 90min Airbus Voyager test flight out of its Brize Norton base, it seems the Royal Air Force has chalked up a world first.

On 16 November the Voyager, the military tanker/transport version of the A330-200, took off with its Rolls-Royce Trent 772B turbofans burning pure, 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Many airlines have operated different types with a mix of standard aviation fuel and SAF – usually less than 50% – but no-one is believed to have used pure SAF before.

On board were an RAF crew supplemented by representatives from the SAF manufacturer BP, Airbus Defence & Space, and engine manufacturer R-R. FlightGlobal has reported a statement by Airbus experimental test pilot Jesus Ruiz, who was the aircraft commander for the test: “From the crew perspective, the SAF operation was ‘transparent’, meaning that no differences were observed operationally. The test plan was exhaustive and robust and has allowed us to compare SAF with JET [A]1.”

RAF Voyager tanker/transport (Crown Copyright)

BP crafted the SAF from used cooking oil. This being a flight operated in British airspace by my alma mater, the RAF, I have an unaccountably earnest desire to learn that the cooking oil came from the deep-fryers of English Fish & Chip bars. Given that Capt Ruiz confirms the flight went without a hitch, it seems BP successfully ensured the fuel was not contaminated with salt and vinegar!

Joking aside, this is a very welcome achievement, as is the RAF’s stated objective for sustainable flight. Chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston says the RAF is committed to achieving net-zero air operations by 2040, a decade ahead of the present global aviation target.