BAE Tempest

The Tempest is a sixth-generation stealth combat aircraft under development by the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), announced in December 2022 as a merger of the UK-led Team Tempest project and Japan's Mitsubishi F-X programme. A treaty signed in December 2023 established the GCAP International Government Organisation, headquartered in Reading, while the industrial joint venture Edgewing - owned equally by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan's JAIEC consortium led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - was formed in 2025 to design, develop and deliver the aircraft. It is intended to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in Royal Air Force and Italian Air Force service and the Mitsubishi F-2 in Japan from around 2035.

Development

Concept models unveiled at Farnborough in 2024 show a large, twin-engine delta-wing airframe, though no official dimensions have been released. UK Ministry of Defence officials have said the fighter should carry roughly double the weapon payload of an F-35A and may be able to cross the Atlantic on internal fuel. Rolls-Royce, IHI and Avio Aero form the engine consortium, while the GCAP Electronics Evolution consortium is developing the integrated sensing and communications suite.

By mid-2026 the programme had secured £8.6 billion in UK funding over four years and a £4.6 billion, 18-month contract awarded to Edgewing in July 2026. BAE Systems' supersonic Combat Air Flying Demonstrator was about 75% complete by volume in June 2026 and is expected to fly by the end of 2027. Canada joined the programme as an observer in July 2026, and Leonardo anticipates around 350 orders by 2035.