Farnborough 2024: Tempest demonstrator passes critical design review, first flight on track for 2027

For the first time, imagery has been released showing the Tempest demonstrator being built. Programme officials said that more than 50% of the aircraft by weight is now in the manufacturing process. (BAE Systems)

The UK Tempest demonstrator that will inform the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Italy and Japan has passed its critical design review (CDR) and is on track to make its maiden flight by the end of 2027, BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 on 24 July.

Speaking to Janes and other defence media, head of Tempest at BAE Systems Paul Wilde and Future Combat Air Systems' Programme Director for the MoD Air Commodore Martin Lowe, said that the passing of the CDR in May had demonstrated the maturity of the programme, and that the timeline announced at the previous Farnborough Airshow in 2022 of a first flight ‘within five years' still stood.

As Wilde noted, a successful CDR would normally be the point at which a traditional sequential combat aircraft programme would enter into the manufacturing phase. However, modern digital development and the latest manufacturing processes – including the use of Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) technology to create a solid metal part using extreme heat and pressure – had enabled the Tempest programme, which also includes Leonardo, MBDA, Rolls-Royce, and around 100 other UK suppliers, to launch production in parallel with the review activity.