The UK government will work with Japan on plans for its next-generation Tempest fighter jet, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday at the opening of the Farnborough International Air Show (FIA 2022). The first demonstration Tempest, capable of supersonic flight, will fly within the next five years.
“It is fantastic to be here in Farnborough, the scene of many of the most exciting developments in the history of powered flight. I just want you to imagine what the next 20 and 50 years will bring. And I want you to know that this government believes in British aviation and its technological genius, as well as its power to generate jobs and growth throughout our country, uniting and leveling the entire country,” said Jhonson.
“That’s why we are investing so massively in defense, the biggest advance since the end of the Cold War, and that’s why I’m so obsessed with the fighter aircraft systems of the future, with Team Tempest and everything that goes with it. I think it’s a fantastic project.”
“There are already 560 UK companies participating, over 1,000 apprentices and recent graduates involved and I passionately believe in the potential of our flourishing partnership, not only with Italy, but also with Japan. An incredible thing to be doing now 80 years after the end of the Second World War”, added the prime minister.
“And of course, the future fighter aircraft system is not just one plane; is a whole platform for technological change and industrial spin-offs of all kinds, because the fighter aircraft systems of the future will be very different even from the Typhoon and some of them will be manned and some of them will be unmanned. And in developing these new technologies and maintaining the air superiority that we have reveled in for so long and that is so crucial to our long-term security. I want our country to be in the lead,” Johnson said.
For his part, Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace explained that “I am delighted that the UK, along with Italy, Japan and Sweden are working together on the same fighter plane. Our work with Japan and Italy on cutting-edge technologies, like this one, shows the benefit of our partnerships around the world.”
–
