Tempest Thunders!

After more than two years of technology development, the UK’s next generation fighter project, Tempest, and its Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) initiative, the Mosquito project, are to be funded beyond 2020 after their ongoing reviews. Both efforts were made public in an announcement of the UK Combat Air Strategy at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow.

Tempest and Typhoon [BAE Systems]
The Tempest mock-up sits on a runway at sunset with a Eurofighter Typhoon behind it. BAE Systems

The end of 2020 sees a review called the outline business case, while the full business case is to be presented in 2025. On November 19, the UK government announced £1.5bn for military research, some of which is for Tempest; almost certainly guaranteeing its continuation. In October, Tempest partners announced their technical achievements, and that flight testing is ongoing, including of a wearable cockpit concept.

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