Tempest Agreement

Bombardier Belfast, Collins Aerospace in the United Kingdom, GE Aviation UK, GKN Aerospace, Martin-Baker, QinetiQ and Thales UK have signed agreements with Team Tempest to work on future combat aviation concepts and to support technologies for the UK`s sixth generation fighter aircraft. Cheltenham, United Kingdom – 21 July 2020 – GE Aviation has signed a cooperation agreement to work on future combat air concepts and technology support within the Tempest team. GE Aviation uk will work on the open architecture and infrastructure of electrical energy and avionics systems. In a statement released on Wednesday morning by the British Ministry of Defence, the government agreement – signed by Simon Bollom, head of defence and support equipment, and Lieutenant General Nicolé Falsaperna, italy`s secretary general of defence – was described as a broad promise of cooperation on “combat air capability.” The idea is to “deepen discussions on Tempest`s military requirements,” establish a “roadmap” for feeding Eurofighter`s advanced capabilities into the future programme and facilitate an industrial ecosystem to achieve everything, according to the statement. “The UK and Italy have a proven track record of 50 years of close cooperation in the development and support of combat aircraft through the Panavia Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon programmes,” the Ministry of Defence statement said. The two governments reaffirmed their common commitment to create a strong industrial base to develop key capabilities and increase the prosperity of both countries. The agreement also paves the way for closer industrial cooperation, including through joint industrial companies such as Leonardo and MBDA. Until Tuesday afternoon, officials at the DSEI defence fair were not yet sure what form the government-government agreement would take and said the turbulent political situation in Italy and Britain had little security. It appeared that a written statement from the defence ministries was to be issued by Wednesday morning, accompanied by a formal event that day. This framework is a further step towards a comprehensive agreement between these national industries on the formalization of areas of joint cooperation in the future development of air transport systems. Defence Minister Ben Wallace confirmed that seven new companies have signed collaboration agreements with Team Tempest at the 2020 edition of Farnborough International Airshow Virtual (FIA Connect).