Leonardo, the UK’s defence electronics champion, has announced a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence worth around 134million euros (115 million pounds) that will launch the next stage of the Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft (FTA) project.
The FTA will support the introduction into service of a new combat aircraft, which will be at the heart of the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS). This next generation fighter is being delivered for 2035 by the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), an international collaboration between the UK, Italy and Japan.
Andrew Howard, Director Future Combat Air/GCAP UK, Leonardo UK, said: “The Excalibur programme will help us to accelerate the development of advanced electronics for the ISANKE & ICS domain via early flight testing, which can take place in parallel with the wider development of the core platform. This will inject additional pace into the programme and support our ambitious goal to deliver a next generation combat aircraft by 2035.”
Richard Berthon, Director Future Combat Air, UK MOD, said: “This contract is a major milestone for the FTA project and demonstrates our commitment in support of the UK Future Combat Air System. I’m excited that this work will enable us to test, in a live flying environment, some of the highly advanced technology that could feature on the aircraft being delivered by GCAP.”
The Excalibur project is a key part of FCAS, which will include the crewed fighter and a broader range of capabilities such as uncrewed aircraft, F-35, information systems and weapon systems. Central to the development of the crewed fighter is the FTA; a Boeing 757 aircraft that will be completely overhauled, turning it into a flying laboratory for combat air technology.
As a founding member of the UK’s Tempest combat air partnership, Leonardo will primarily use the airliner to test new technologies being developed by the trilateral programme. The UK Tempest Partners, BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce & MBDA, working together with the UK Ministry of Defence, are continuing to collaborate on a range of test and demonstration activities, including Excalibur, to enable the successful delivery of GCAP in the required programme timelines.
Phase one of the Excalibur project saw 2Excel conduct an engineering study into the 757 airframe to understand its construction in-depth, which entailed experts from UK industry taking the retired aircraft apart piece-by-piece. This was required so that the UK team would be able provide the appropriate regulatory evidence and design information to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and enable the second, modified aircraft to be certified for flight.
Having completed this phase of the project, the team has generated the knowledge required to undertake the modification of a second aircraft. That aircraft, a commercial jet bought from charter flight company Titan Airways, has already arrived at 2Excel’s facility in Lasham, Hampshire, ready for engineering. The new contract will cover the physical modification of the 757, as well as flight tests, certification and the work required to secure approval from the CAA.
The Excalibur aircraft will be adapted to host integrated sensors, non-kinetic effects (ISANKE) and integrated communications systems (ICS) that Leonardo and its international partners are developing as part of GCAP. This aircraft is expected to fly with the new technology within the next three years, when on-board scientists and engineers will test the sensors and communications systems whilst in flight.
The Indonesian Navy is exploring interim submarine options from several countries to temporarily boost its fleet while awaiting the arrival…
British cargo airline One Air has added a third Boeing 747-400 freighter to its fleet, aiming to address increasing demand…
Embraer will present its commercial, defence, and executive aircraft at the Bali Airshow, held at Ngurah Rai International Airport from…
SITA has launched its cybersecurity hardening solution, SITA Managed NAC (Network Access Control). The solution is designed to safeguard mission-critical…
During a recent Congressional hearing on the Department of National Defense's (DND) budget for fiscal year 2025, Defence Secretary Gilberto…
Advanced air mobility company Joby Aviation has taken the first step towards becoming a certified air taxi operator in the…
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and National Civil Aviation Agency – Brazil (ANAC) have signed a Memorandum of…
On Sept. 13, Embraer will bring together ten startups from all over Brazil to discuss innovation and ways to increase…
Aselsan, Türkiye's leading defence company, has announced eye-catching financial results for the first half of 2024. Revenues reached 35.7 billion…
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to Singapore, valued…
Boeing has announced the scheduled 2026 launch of a satellite – dubbed Q4S – which is designed to demonstrate quantum…
American Airlines has announced nearly 500 new aviation maintenance jobs and additional lines of heavy maintenance work at the carrier’s…
Dirk Beljaarts, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, and Pierre Eric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group, signed…
Britten-Norman has announced a new modification for its BN2B-26 Islander aircraft, allowing the use of unleaded fuel in the piston…
Challenge Group has earned the IATA CEIV Lithium Battery certification after six months of preparation, training, and audits. This new…
Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HOSE: VJC) has announced its audited financial results for the first half of 2024, showing…
Exail has entered into an agreement with Precision Technic Defence A/S to provide Advans Vega Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) for…
Ankara-based simulator manufacturer HAVELSAN has announced that its Boeing B737-8 MAX Full Flight Simulator, operated by Turkish Airlines, has obtained…
Japan Airlines (JAL) has become the first A350 operator globally to sign up with Airbus for the computer-based A350 Virtual…
L3Harris Technologies has received an order from the U.S. Marine Corps for multi-channel handheld and vehicular radio systems worth more…
Major General Piek Budyakto, Director General of Defence Potential at the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, led a technical meeting on…
Airbus Helicopters has secured a contract with the Republic of Iraq for the delivery of 12 H225M multi-role helicopters. The…
Exail has been selected by Naval Group to supply navigation systems for the French Navy's Ocean Patrol Vessels (OPVs) as…
BAE Systems Australia has selected spend management software from Ivalua to streamline and modernise its supply chain processes. The company…
Raytheon recently successfully demonstrated the SeaVue Multi-role Radar's superior long-range target detection at the U.S. Navy's Exercise Rim of the…
The U.S. Army has awarded the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) a follow-on fiscal year 2024 production contract for Javelin© missiles…
Hurjet, Türkiye’s first indigenous jet-powered supersonic trainer aircraft, performed a demonstration flight earlier this week at the Egypt International Airshow.…
Embraer on Thursday delivered the first C-390 Millennium multi-mission aircraft to the Hungarian Air Force. The aircraft is the first…
At the Egypt International Air Show, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced that Lockheed Martin will supply two C-130J-30 Super Hercules…
Airbus Defence and Space has completed the acquisition of Infodas, a German company specialising in cybersecurity and IT solutions for…
Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.
Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.
Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us
2024 GBP all rights reserved.