The Italian news agency ANSA on January 3, 2021, distributed a message from the Italian Ministry of Defense that the Defense Ministers of Italy, Lorenzo Guerini, Great Britain, Ben Wallace and Sweden, Peter Hultqvist, signed on December 21, 2020, a trilateral agreement on the joint development of a promising new generation fighter based on the British Tempest fighter project.
The proposed appearance of a promising new-generation fighter Tempest, which will be created as part of a joint program of the United Kingdom, Italy and Sweden (with) BAE Systems
The agreement, called the Memorandum of Understanding on the Future Combat Air System Cooperation (FCASC) program, regulates the general principles of equal cooperation between the three countries (Great Britain, Sweden and Italy) and covers all activities, including R & D, necessary for the governments of the three countries to decide on the acquisition of a promising aviation system to replace the Eurofighter and Saab Gripen fighters. It should be noted that the defense ministries of the three countries did not officially announce the signing of this agreement. This agreement should be followed by further agreements on the project and the full-scale development phase (ROC), which is currently scheduled to start in 2025.
In a document recently submitted by the Italian Ministry of Defense to the Italian Parliament on three-year (2020-2022) defense planning (DPP), the Tempest program is defined as one of the priorities for Italy, with the aim of creating a replacement for the Eurofighter fighter, and in these three years the Italian side plans to allocate 760 million euros for it.
The Ministry of defence of Italy, despite joining the program Tempest, said that "however, in the context of building the sixth generation of aircraft Italy considers it desirable, as with the other countries participating in Tempest, and in a trilateral project FCAS (France, Germany and Spain), the opportunity to evaluate over time the possible convergence of the two programmes to make European products even more competitive on a global scale, and in order to avoid early competition among European groups, which is not sustainable and which will probably can benefit other regional players with global opportunities that are developing similar technology."
In September 2020, at the DSEI exhibition in London, leading companies in the UK defense sector (BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce and MBDA UK) and Italy (Leonardo, Elettronica, Avio Aero and MBDA Italy) signed a Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the development of the Tempest combat aviation system.
From the bmpd will remindthat in July of 2018, the UK Ministry of defence has publicly introduced the concept of a long-term Strategy in the field of combat aircraft (Combat Air Strategy - CAS), which was proclaimed by 2035 promising British fighter aircraft, dubbed the Tempest and a full-sized "concept" layout which was shown at the presentation of the Strategy. Preliminary research on the creation of a new fighter was conducted within the framework of the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative, proclaimed by the British Strategic Review in the field of defense and security 2015 (2015 Strategic Defense and Security Review), specially created by the Team Tempest group, which includes, in addition to playing the lead role of BAE Systems Corporation, also Leonardo, MBDA, Rolls-Royce and the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office. In July 2020, the Team Tempest consortium also included General Electric UK, GKN, Collins Aerospace, Martin Baker, QinetiQ, Bombardier, Thales UK, and a number of British universities and laboratories.
The British CAS strategy stated that full-scale R & D funding for the advanced fighter program should begin in 2025 and that the advanced fighter should reach the initial operational readiness (IOC) stage in 2035. The promising Tempest fighter should replace the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft in the British Air Force, the final removal of which is planned for 2040.
In July 2019 the Memorandum of understanding on joining the program Tempest was signed by the Ministry of defence of Sweden, and in September 2019, the defense Ministry of Italy. Now the parties have signed an agreement that finally gives the program a trilateral character.
The Tempest program is currently competing with another European program to create a promising fighter - html "target=" _blank "rel=" nofollow " >implemented> France, Germany and Spain are part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program to develop the Next Generation Fighter (NGF).
The proposed appearance of a promising new-generation fighter Tempest, which will be created as part of a joint program of the United Kingdom, Italy and Sweden (with) BAE Systems
