BAE Sees ‘Phenomenal Pace’ on Next Fighter Jet as Rival Sputters | Company Business News

(Bloomberg) — BAE Systems Plc said it is speeding ahead with the development of its next-generation Tempest fighter jet, as a rival European program is hamstrung by Franco-German squabbling.

The British defense company this week unveiled the design of a demonstrator aircraft, and said that it has already begun manufacturing the main structure, wings and tail for that jet at its site in Lancashire. 

The milestone puts the test aircraft on track to fly within three years, with the final piloted supersonic plane — the first to be developed in the UK in 40 years — to be delivered by 2035, the firm said. 

“The pace of this program is absolutely phenomenal,” Herman Claesen, managing director for Future Combat Air Systems at BAE Systems, told reporters on a video call on Tuesday. “By following the timeline we are following at the moment, we will be one of first companies to be able to offer the sixth-generation capability into the export market.”

The US, China and Russia are also developing sixth-generation aircraft, which are likely to include enhanced stealth, sensor and autonomous capabilities as well as the improved ability to coordinate with other aircraft and drones. 

London-based BAE is one part of the three-party Global Combat Air Programme, which also includes Italy’s Leonardo SpA and Japanese partners. Engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and missile company MBDA are helping with the development of the demonstrator in coordination with the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

BAE’s optimistic tone and declarations of “excellent progress” contrast starkly with the rival German-French-Spanish effort. The two main contractors, France’s Dassault Aviation SA and Airbus SE, whose defense business is based outside Munich, are bickering over control of FCAS, also known by its French acronym SCAF, which has put the development of the planned successor aircraft to the Eurofighter at risk. 

The issue has escalated to the point that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to quell the squabble at a meeting in Berlin this month. In 2023, Airbus predicted that FCAS will be operational by 2040.

When asked about whether it makes sense for Europe to have two competing fighter jet programs, Claesen said GCAP’s timelines were much faster at the moment than what they’ve seen at the Franco-German program, although he was not privy to any details at the rival endeavor. 

“We’re focused on our program, we’re focused on our job, it is up to the governments to decide whether there is enough money in Europe and strategically whether it is important to have two programs or to have one program,” Claesen said. 

GCAP is being driven by the UK, Italy and Japan. A joint venture to lead the project — recently dubbed Edgewing — has BAE, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. each owning 33.3%. There has been speculation that other countries could join the project, especially Saudi Arabia, which is a key export market for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet.

“We can make anything happen, but the likelihood is diminishing all the time considering the pace we have on the program,” Claesen said of adding new partners, because doing so would have an impact on timing and costs.

GCAP has defined five levels of involvement, ranging from the most basic of ordering the plane off the shelf to manufacturing the aircraft in their own country, he said. 

“I am pleased to say there’s a bit of a queue forming of various nations who want to talk to the three governments” to be involved with the program, Claesen said. 

–With assistance from Gerry Doyle.

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