Tempest slows down in the UK?
After the signing of the trilateral MoU on the Tempest program (in which Leonardo participates) by the ministries of defense of Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the British government delays the sending of the business case
Slowdowns in sight in the UK for the Tempest program?
According to Shepard , the UK Department of Defense fighter aircraft acquisition program team did not submit the Tempest Project Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Business Case (Outline Business Case) in line with an original goal. at the end of 2020.
The British initiative project regarding the air combat system of the future which our country and Sweden joined in 2019.
As Start wrote in October , a draft business case of the Tempest program was expected to be submitted to the Johnson government in December 2020.
Shephard now reports that the business case will be sent to the UK Ministry of Defense Investment Approval Committee for acceptance no earlier than April 2021, with the necessary postponement to align with the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) results.
Meanwhile, on 21 December the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini (Pd), together with his counterparts in the United Kingdom and Sweden, signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) which governs an equal collaboration between the three countries in the context of program.
But will the four-month delay in the presentation of the Outiline business case in the UK lead to delays in the project's roadmap?
THE DELAY OF BUSINESS CASE FOR THE TEMPEST IN THE UK
The approval of the Utiline business case effectively triggers the start of the formal acquisition program for the Tempest project (which includes the sixth generation fighter).
According to Shepard , the business case should make explicit how the project will bring financial benefits to the UK, add more international partners and address how new technologies can lower acquisition costs.
THE TEMPEST PROGRAM
The UK has already committed £ 2bn to the program launched in 2018, which aims to start production by 2025, with delivery of the fighter aircraft system by 2035. The sixth generation stealth fighter is expected to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon from 2040.
The British initiative project will compete with the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS program. ( Here the in-depth study by Start on the possibility of a convergence between the Tempest and Fcas programs ).
On 22 July, the industries of Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden started a trilateral collaboration within the project.
Sweden has already committed itself with the first 63 million euros while in Italy a first line of financing for participation in Tempest has been identified as part of the Eurofighter program.
THE POSITION OF THE BRITISH LEADING INDUSTRY BAE SYSTEM
“Bae Systems and our industrial partners in Team Tempest have supported this request with proof of our technological and transformation advances,” a spokesperson for the manufacturer said in a statement.
At the beginning of October, Bae Systems published the first PwC results on the potential economic contribution of the Tempest program over the next 30 years.
The program will support around 20,000 jobs and provide £ 25.3 billion in value to the UK economy by 2050, according to initial estimates that it will be part of the business case presented in the first quarter of 2021.
THE INDUSTRIES INVOLVED
Recall that the three national industries include the main defense companies of the United Kingdom (Bae Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce and Mbda UK), Italy (Leonardo Italy, Electronics, Avio Aero and Mbda Italy ) and Sweden (Saab and GKN Aerospace Sweden ).
COMPLIED WITH THE TIMETABLE?
Despite the four-month delay in submitting the Outline business case for the Tempest project, Shepard believes future milestones such as final investment decisions, a full business case – both scheduled for 2025 – and the IOC (Initial Operating Capacity) in 2035, they will remain unchanged.
It should not be forgotten that at the end of November the Johnson government announced that the Tempest program will receive additional investments as part of the larger UK defense spending of £ 16.5 billion ($ 22.38 billion) over the next four years.
REMOTE HYPOTHESIS
Yet, there are already those who had doubts about the feasibility of complying with the timetable, even before knowing the delay in the presentation of the Outline business case in the United Kingdom. Like General Vincenzo Camporini, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, heard by Start . “This is a great combat system in which there is also a platform that flies but which obviously has to involve all possible operational dimensions. It is an extremely complex job also because we are talking about exploring “unexplored planets”. It therefore requires competence, imagination and good will and that is what will have to be done in the coming months. I repeat it is a very complicated job, which gives me some doubts about the timing announced by our British colleagues. There is talk of making it fly by 2025. I don't think this meets a minimum of feasibility because we are dealing with something completely new to design from the beginning ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tempest-rallenta-nel-regno-unito/ on Fri, 08 Jan 2021 11:54:45 +0000.