Take a look at fighter jet of the future in Cosford
It is to be the multi-billion pound Top Gun stealth fighter jet of the future.
Now visitors to RAF Museum Cosford can get up close to a ‘concept’ version of the Tempest – 16 years before it is due to come into service in 2035.
South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson first unveiled plans for the futuristic jet last year when he was Defence Secretary.
It is billed as the country’s first entirely British fighter in decades and will be built by Team Tempest, a consortium including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo and MBDA.
It will also be able to drop payloads of swarming drones, be invisible to radar and destroy enemy threats through electromagnetic radiation, it is claimed.
A prototype is on display for a fortnight at the museum.
The jet itself will be either be flown traditionally by pilots or as a drone.
BAE System says this can “enhance survivability, availability, cyber resilience and tactical options”.
The Ministry of Defence says that it hopes the Tempest will be flying by 2035, alongside the RAF’s fleet of F-35Bs.
