UK unveils new Tempest fighter jet to replace Typhoon

The Guardian ^ | 16 Jul 2018 | Rob Davies

[sukhoi-30mki]

A model of the Tempest jet fighter, unveiled by the defence secretary, Gavin Wiliamson, at the Farnborough airshow. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, has unveiled plans for a new RAF fighter jet, the Tempest, which will eventually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Speaking at the Farnborough airshow, Williamson unveiled a model of the sixth-generation fighter jet the Ministry of Defence (MoD) expects to emerge from its new combat air strategy, designed to maintain the UK’s status as a so-called “tier one” military power after Brexit.

“This is a strategy to keep control of the air, both at home and abroad, to remain a global leader in the sector,” Williamson said.

Brexit: No 10 rules out second referendum 'under any circumstances' - Politics live Read more He said he wanted the Tempest to be flying alongside the existing fleet of Typhoons and the US-made F-35s by 2035.

The government said it would spend £2bn to develop the aircraft between now and 2025, using money set aside in 2015 for future combat air technologies.

The jet will potentially be able to operate unmanned, according to plans released by the MoD, and will have next-generation technology on board designed to cope with modern threats.

This will include “swarming” technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hit its targets, as well as directed energy weapons (DEW), which used concentrated bursts of laser, microwave or particle beam energy to inflict damage.

Tempest will be built by a consortium composed of the British defence firm BAE Systems, the engine-maker Rolls-Royce, the Italian aerospace company Lombardo and the pan-European missile manufacturer MBDA.

[bunkerhill7]

But will it fit in a teapot?

[NYAmerican]

Is it safe to assume this this wonderful, state of the art weapon is intended to target right wing haters, while protecting the hordes of innocent and heroic Muslim “immigrants”? I mean, any other purpose would be unthinkable......

[mabarker1]

Yeah, right I was told that in Elementary School also. They told us by the year 2000, Well We are way past that. While I like the concept I’ll stay on the ground because those that fly will be dead from the crash therefor thinning the Herd and I’ll have room on the roads. I’ll hazard a guess that about 80% that have a Drivers License DON’T really know how to drive safely.

[minnesota_bound]

You will driving along and a flying car will land on you by a student driver.

[mabarker1]

I’ll wait till the herd thins out before I leave home 🤓

[Yo-Yo]

I think at this point it is old technology to build piloted fighters. With AI pilotless planes will be far superior in air to air combat.

The article says that it will have the capability to be optionally piloted.

However, we are decades away, if not longer, for a fully-AI flown fighter. If it is not piloted, it will most likely be directed by a manned aircraft in the formation, or remotely piloted by a human on the ground.

And I know this has been said many times before and been proven false, but we are at an age where missiles are better dogfighters than aircraft. We are beyond the need to point the entire aircraft at a target to acquire a lock. With HMDs, the pilot can designate a target from well off-boresight.