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Will the UK continue to produce combat aircraft in the next decade? The government has promised to answer that question soon, by launching a new “Combat Air Strategy.” This is particularly awaited by the Military Air and Information (MAI) business of BAE Systems (Outside Exhibit 11). It may no longer be rolling out new Eurofighter Typhoons at Warton by the middle 2020s and, although the company has developed significant expertise in unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), these have been on research and development contracts only.
Chris Boardman, the managing director of the MAI business at BAE, said recently that he hoped the new strategy “is very clear about what stance we want to take in the world.” He was speaking at RAF Marham on the sidelines of the first deliveries to the UK of Lockheed Martin F-35s—a program that will bring large revenues to BAE Systems in the next two decades. The company is producing the rear fuselages and tails for the 3,000-plus of the stealth fighters that are expected to be ordered.
Boardman noted that it took 17 years for the F-35 program to reach its current, early operational stage. So with the out-of-service date for the RAF’s Typhoons being 2040, “we need to make a decision in the next few years, including whether we work with partners.”
Most observers have assumed that partnership is mandatory, for both cost and political reasons. The Typhoon is a four-nation partnership, and the Tornado that preceded it was three-nation. But the French have produced the Rafale on their own. And, as Boardman noted, the UK has developed and flown the Taranis UCAV on its own. “We are capable, and I would like us to take some leadership as a nation,” he said.
Even as BAE Systems was completing a third series of Taranis flight tests in 2015, the company was starting work on the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) study for the two governments. That work continues, on both manned and unmanned options. Boardman said an extension of the contract is being negotiated. The new work would include communications and training aspects, as well as the platform.
But recent political developments in Europe have scuppered the original Anglo-French intention of funding FCAS as far as producing “operationally representative demonstrators” by 2025. In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. A year later, the leaders of the French and German governments declared their intent to develop an FCAS—with no mention of the UK. At the Berlin Air Show last April, Airbus and Dassault signed an industrial partnership for this “alternative” FCAS project. They did not rule out “the involvement of other key European defense industrial players,” but made it clear that they would be the leaders.
Meanwhile, BAE Systems has signed a contract to provide expertise to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the TF-X project. That is potentially a fifth-generation fighter, although Boardman acknowledged that BAE Systems is constrained by an Anglo-Turkish inter-government MoU, on the extent to which it can share advanced technology. Nevertheless, the company has sent engineers to Turkey. However, Boardman noted that Turkey has not yet made some basic decisions on (for instance) the TF-X flight control system and powerplant(s). A final design review is still a few years away.
Will the UK continue to produce combat aircraft in the next decade? The government has promised to answer that question soon, by launching a new “Combat Air Strategy.” This is particularly awaited by the Military Air and Information (MAI) business of BAE Systems (Outside Exhibit 11). It may no longer be rolling out new Eurofighter Typhoons at Warton by the middle 2020s and, although the company has developed significant expertise in unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), these have been on research and development contracts only.
Chris Boardman, the managing director of the MAI business at BAE, said recently that he hoped the new strategy “is very clear about what stance we want to take in the world.” He was speaking at RAF Marham on the sidelines of the first deliveries to the UK of Lockheed Martin F-35s—a program that will bring large revenues to BAE Systems in the next two decades. The company is producing the rear fuselages and tails for the 3,000-plus of the stealth fighters that are expected to be ordered.
Boardman noted that it took 17 years for the F-35 program to reach its current, early operational stage. So with the out-of-service date for the RAF’s Typhoons being 2040, “we need to make a decision in the next few years, including whether we work with partners.”
Most observers have assumed that partnership is mandatory, for both cost and political reasons. The Typhoon is a four-nation partnership, and the Tornado that preceded it was three-nation. But the French have produced the Rafale on their own. And, as Boardman noted, the UK has developed and flown the Taranis UCAV on its own. “We are capable, and I would like us to take some leadership as a nation,” he said.
Even as BAE Systems was completing a third series of Taranis flight tests in 2015, the company was starting work on the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) study for the two governments. That work continues, on both manned and unmanned options. Boardman said an extension of the contract is being negotiated. The new work would include communications and training aspects, as well as the platform.
But recent political developments in Europe have scuppered the original Anglo-French intention of funding FCAS as far as producing “operationally representative demonstrators” by 2025. In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. A year later, the leaders of the French and German governments declared their intent to develop an FCAS—with no mention of the UK. At the Berlin Air Show last April, Airbus and Dassault signed an industrial partnership for this “alternative” FCAS project. They did not rule out “the involvement of other key European defense industrial players,” but made it clear that they would be the leaders.
Meanwhile, BAE Systems has signed a contract to provide expertise to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the TF-X project. That is potentially a fifth-generation fighter, although Boardman acknowledged that BAE Systems is constrained by an Anglo-Turkish inter-government MoU, on the extent to which it can share advanced technology. Nevertheless, the company has sent engineers to Turkey. However, Boardman noted that Turkey has not yet made some basic decisions on (for instance) the TF-X flight control system and powerplant(s). A final design review is still a few years away.
BAE Systems invests about £1 billion (US$1.33 billion) in R & D annually, including government funding. Over £10 million (US$13.3 million) goes to universities for future technologies including novel materials, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, “mixed reality” cockpits, and avionics testing. In late 2015, the company paid £20.6 million (US$27.38 million) for a 20 percent stake in Reaction Engines and its hypersonic engine. It continues to work on developments that are very relevant to future combat aircraft (see sidebars).
Still, the company announced last year that it would reduce the aerospace workforce by 1,400, due to the slowdown in production of the Typhoon and the Hawk, and next year’s withdrawal from RAF service of the Tornado, for which BAE provides significant support.
BAE can produce 14 Typhoons annually at Warton now, but the line needs another export success beyond Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. Confirmation of the re-order of 48 from Saudi Arabia would be most welcome. So would a British commitment to buy T2 or Advanced Hawks for the RAF Red Arrows, to replace the original Hawk T1s that the aerobatic team has now been flying for 38 years.
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Jet-powered UAV Is Testing Unique Flight ControlsTogether with the University of Manchester, BAE has built a small UAV, designated Magma, that is testing a unique blown-air system to replace flaps and to vector thrust. The work could lead to lighter, stealthier, faster, and more efficient military and civil aircraft in the future.The new concept removes the need for complex, mechanical moving parts used to move flaps. It takes bleed air from the aircraft engine and blows it supersonically through very narrow slots in the trailing edge of the wing to provide control. Blown air is also used within the exhaust nozzle to deflect the exhaust, allowing for the pitch of the aircraft to be changed.Last December, BAE said that further flight trials were planned for the coming months, with the ultimate aim of flying the aircraft without any moving control surfaces or fins. The company claimed that, if successful, the tests will demonstrate the first ever use of such circulation control in flight on a gas turbine aircraft and from a single engine.Clyde Warsop, engineering fellow at BAE Systems, said: “The technologies we are developing with The University of Manchester will make it possible to design cheaper, higher performance, next-generation aircraft. Our investment is helping to ensure that UK aerospace remains at the forefront of the industry and that we retain the right skills to design and build the aircraft of the future.”Bill Crowther, a senior academic and leader of the Magma project at The University of Manchester, added: “These trials are an important step forward in our efforts to explore adaptable airframes. What we are seeking to do through this program is truly groundbreaking.”
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New Test Rig Aids Weapons-bay DesignBAE Systems has built at Warton what it claims to be a unique test rig for investigating the release of weapons. The company worked closely with MBDA UK and Harris Release Systems to design the rig. It allows engineers to undertake full-scale ground tests that will provide a much more detailed understanding of the weapons bay environment.Releasing a weapon or store from an aircraft weapons bay at high subsonic and supersonic speeds presents a series of complex engineering challenges, noted BAE Systems. The harsh aero-acoustic noise and vibration experienced within a weapons bay create a high risk of damaging the structural integrity of the aircraft or the store, and the need to rapidly open and close bay doors adds to the complexity.A test culminated in the successful release at high-subsonic speed of a store from a bay designed, and now proven, to survive this severe environment. The collaborative team captured high-quality data from instruments and high-speed cameras during the test. The data will be used to help define the optimal design of payload bays to carry weapons, fuel tanks, or sensor equipment on future aircraft.
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Hybrid UAV Adapts from Fixed To Rotary WingEngineers from BAE Systems have worked with students from Cranfield University on “Adaptable UAVs” that can alternate between the two different flight modes in the same mission.They would use adaptive flight control and advanced navigation and guidance software, which allows the aircraft to benefit from the greater speed and range afforded to fixed-wing aircraft, before alternating to rotary-wing mode to hover and achieve vertical takeoff and landing. This novel technology could allow UAVs to better adapt to evolving future battlefield situations and through working together in a swarm, tackle sophisticated air defenses, as well as operating in complex and cluttered urban environments.In the rotary wing mode of flight, an Adaptable UAV can be easily and safely launched and recovered using a range of vehicles in dangerous environments that might be cluttered by personnel, other aircraft, or vehicles. A pole constrains the lateral or sideways movement of the UAV when being launched or recovered so strong winds cannot dislodge it, and avoids any damage to personnel nearby. This is particularly important when recovering a UAV to the aft of a ship or a land vehicle. The pole’s gyro-stabilized element also ensures that it remains upright independently of the host vehicle’s orientation, which may be rolling if on a ship, or in the case of a land vehicle, driving up or down a slope at the time of the launch or recovery.