Seen at the Farnborough International Airshow, the Wingman unmanned adjunct is being touted by Airbus as a potential fit for the GCAP effort between Italy, Japan, and the UK. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Airbus showcased its recently revealed Wingman concept at the Farnborough International Airshow running from 22 to 26 July, telling Janes that it could be brought into the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) of Italy, Japan, and the UK.
Marco Gumbrecht, head of Combat Air Systems, Airbus Defence and Space (DS), said on 24 July that with GCAP solely concerned with development of the manned sixth generation combat aircraft that will be known as Tempest in the UK (Italy and Japan have yet to decide their naming conventions), the Wingman could potentially serve as a ‘loyal wingman' force multiplying adjunct.
“We could potentially partner with BAE Systems [or other GCAP companies] – that could be something that happens in the future,” Gumbrecht said.
While Airbus DS is the lead company in the remote carrier (RC) pillar of the rival Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (SCAF) programme, the Wingman is a solely company-funded effort and sits outside of the scope of the Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) Phase 1B development contract that comprises the New Generation Fighter (NGF), RCs, and the Air Combat Cloud. As such, its inclusion in the GCAP project would not be at odds with Airbus' FCAS/SCAF work.
“Airbus believes in the Wingman, which is fully internally funded – there is currently no customer contract,” Gumbrecht said. “We have brought it here to ‘GCAP-land' [the UK], and we are very aware that people will ask that question [as to whether it might be offered to the GCAP programme].”
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