Secretary of State for Defence (): In the summer I updated the House on progress under
the UK Combat Air Strategy, setting out the crucial importance of
combat air to the nation’s security, sovereign industrial base
and to our role in international affairs. I outlined the
significant progress being made to develop a next generation
combat air system, highlighting the substantial work underway
with close and valued partners Japan and Italy.
It is with great pleasure that I now offer a further update on
international partnering for our future combat air capability. In
a landmark announcement, the Prime Ministers of the UK, Japan and
Italy, announced that we will work together under a joint
programme partnership, the next step in deepening our
collaboration. Within the UK, the aircraft under development will
be known as Tempest.
Together, our ambition is to develop a next generation capability
designed to outmatch adversaries even in the most highly
contested environments, by utilising a network of cutting-edge
capabilities such advanced sensors, weapons and data systems. Due
to enter service in 2035, it is being developed to keep ahead of
the threat for decades to come and undertake a wide variety of
missions within our wider military, across all domains.
Tempest will be developed by the newly formed Global Combat Air
Programme (GCAP), under a spirit of equal partnership, created by
the merging of Japan’s FX programme with the UK and Italy’s
Future Combat Air System (FCAS). This new programme will take
forward our joint concepting activity and support technological
and operational sovereignty across partner nations.
This announcement represents a major opportunity to develop our
sovereign defence-industrial capabilities, demonstrating our
commitment to the 2018 Combat Air Strategy and the 2021 Defence
and Security Industrial Strategy. The programme is delivering an
uplift in skilled jobs for all three partner nations, providing a
launchpad for careers in science and engineering. The enterprise
already employs over 2,500 highly skilled personnel in the UK
alone, including engineers and programmers, with recruitment
expanding rapidly.
This programme will also be important in supporting economic
growth across the country, with key combat air hubs in the
north-west and south-west of England and in Edinburgh, supported
by a supply chain of hundreds of organisations from one end of
the UK to the other. It is a key avenue for investment in
Research and Development, both public and private, with MOD and
our industry partners having already invested well over £1
billion in developing the skills and technologies needed to
deliver at pace.
This capability will be designed by some of the world’s leading
defence companies. In the UK, these include BAE Systems, Leonardo
UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce, working closely with the Ministry of
Defence. The international partnership includes MHI, IHI and
MELCO for Japan; and Leonardo SpA., Avio Aero, MBDA IT and
Elettronica for Italy.
This is a truly strategic endeavour, demonstrating our commitment
to maintaining the capabilities needed to defend the UK, protect
and reassure our allies and partners and deter those who would
threaten international security. It is a clear sign of a global
Britain working with like-minded partners from across the world
to deepen our defence capabilities, grow our advanced industrial
capacity, and demonstrate our shared commitment to international
security.
