The design of the UK’s Combat Air Flying Demonstrator has been revealed as the aircraft reaches a major manufacturing milestone. The piloted supersonic aircraft represents the first of its kind to be developed in the UK in four decades.
Two thirds of the demonstrator’s structural weight is now in manufacturing, with the aircraft’s main structure, wings and tail fins taking shape using robotic and digital manufacturing technologies at BAE Systems’ Lancashire sites.
Being developed by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, MBDA UK, and the UK Ministry of Defence the demonstrator will serve as a testbed to mature critical technologies for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
“This significant and challenging project will deliver the UK’s first crewed combat demonstrator aircraft in four decades,” says Tony Godbold, future combat air systems delivery director at BAE Systems. “The program is accelerating the development of advanced design approaches and manufacturing techniques, helping to sharpen the UK’s industrial edge and deliver benefits beyond the production of the aircraft.”
The demonstrator will test a range of new technologies, including the integration of stealth-compatible features. The demonstrator aircraft will be a crucial part of work to develop manufacturing processes and de-risk the next generation combat aircraft that will be delivered through GCAP by industrial partners in the UK, Italy and Japan.
BAE Systems engineers are applying technologies including 3D printing, cobotics, digital twins, model-based systems engineering and virtual simulation.
Test pilots from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the Royal Air Force have flown more than 300 hours of the Combat Air Flying Demonstrator in a bespoke simulator. The data from these simulated flight trials are being used to rapidly assess the flight control systems during complex flight maneuvers, capturing crucial data about how the jet will handle and perform before its first flight.
“I am delighted that today, BAE Systems and the Ministry of Defense, can share this important update on the Combat Air Flying Demonstrator,” says Richard Berthon, director future combat air at the UK Ministry of Defense. “For the first time, people can see how this aircraft will look when it takes to the skies.”
As well as developing the aircraft, GCAP is building the technical foundations, workforce readiness and digital maturity essential to deliver the next generation of combat air capability, said BAE Systems.
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