“This is the latest version of the concept our engineers are working on,” says Herman Claesen, BAE’s program manager. The model has a larger wingspan than before.
The three partners were selected by their respective countries as part of the GCAP (Global Air Combat Platform) program launched in December 2022. This program is in direct competition with the one developed by Germany, France and Spain under the name SCAF (Future Air Combat System) which aims to replace the Eurofighter and Rafale by 2040.
A delicate industrial division which remains to be defined
The model on display, significantly larger than current fighter jets, marks a break with the Eurofighter and Rafale. Priority seems to be given to aerodynamics and stealth with engines integrated into the fuselage and surfaces with the least possible relief. These constraints being the same for everyone, the GCAP model has an air of resemblance to that presented in 2023 by competitor SCAF.
In the presentation areas at the foot of the giant model, the demonstrators highlight the work on the future motorization of such an aircraft as well as the combat cloud capabilities of the aircraft which will serve as a communication platform to circulate mission data between satellites, other aircraft (refueling planes, aerial drones, etc.); ships, ground combat forces, etc.We have a sustained work pace“, Herman Claesen said in front of a group of journalists. The leader confirmed the initial schedule with a first flight of the aircraft in 2035. That is still five years before its Franco-German-Spanish competitor. The decade 2025-2035 will be devoted to finalizing the design and joint development.
On the stage, the program director for the English side was accompanied by his Italian and Japanese counterparts, Guglielmo Maviglia and Hitoshi Shiraishi respectively. A way of displaying the good understanding between the partners. Enough to contrast with the difficult relations that had been able to prevail for a time between Airbus and Dassault at the time of sharing the industrial tasks of the program and which have since normalized. But the hardest part is perhaps ahead of them: the three industrialists hope to take this step of sharing the program in 2025.
Weaponry and the combat cloud, common points
A stone’s throw from the BAE Systems chalet, competitor Airbus is presenting another facet of the combat aviation of the future: a drone to accompany fighter planes, or “wingman” in the pilots’ jargon. The European aircraft manufacturer is exhibiting a full-scale model of its companion drone, prominently displayed between its H160M combat helicopter, an A330-900 in Virgin Atlantic livery and an A400M. Here again, the dimensions are impressive: 12 meters wingspan, 15 meters length, 2.5 meters height…
Potentially armed, this combat drone must be able to penetrate contested airspace without endangering the lives of the pilots. “Its design makes it barely visible to anti-aircraft defenses,” the demonstrator emphasizes. Germany and Spain are interested in such a concept. The drone, currently being developed with its own funds, could fly in a first version around 2030.
At Farnborough, the question of converging the two European combat aviation programs is being raised in order to reduce the associated development costs. On the eve of the show, Michael Schoellhorn, president of the Airbus Defense and Space division, outlined possible ways of bringing the two programs closer together.I see at least two or three points of connection, even if in the end there could still be two different combat aircraft. On the one hand, the armament largely provided in both cases by the European missile manufacturer MBDA and on the other, the combat cloud“By pooling costly investments between nations, the future generation of combat aviation could show the way to a more pragmatic and more effective European Defence.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
