UK-Japan-Italy Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) News & Analysis

[Kiltonge]

Discussion of FCAS, GCAP & Team Tempest with MOD and industry guests from Leonardo and RR.

Some snippets:

1. 250-300 tri-national staff working face to face on a dozen threads of requirements.

2. Will it be BVR only? They don't want to make the mistake of the Phantom and sacrifice agility for performance, but it sounds like it will be BVR-biased with some WVR capability. It will be more of a coordinating quarterback than a 'thug' like Typhoon.

3. Computing capability is critical: carrying the server rack forward to process the vast quantity of data gathered by a deeply-penetrating FCAS network.

4. Range, range and even more range. 'Maybe getting across the Atlantic to America' as an indicator of magnitude.

5. Orpheus engine demonstrator is for FCAS in general, not solely GCAP.

6. Designed to be exportable. Without exports it would still contribute estimated £37 billion to UK economy.

7. Targeting 10 year development period - technology challenge comparable to Apollo?

8. Payload will be about twice that of F-35A.

9. Single-seat WSO rather than single-seat pilot...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izFYZT2fBxo

 

[VTOLicious]

Discussion of FCAS, GCAP & Team Tempest with MOD and industry guests from Leonardo and RR.

Some snippets:
...

8. Payload will be about twice that of F-35A.

I think this is the first the the payload capability was outlined. So we can expect up to 12 AMRAAM-sized missiles internally (If F-35 "sidekick" upgrade is considered).

 

[Ares]

4. Range, range and even more range. 'Maybe getting across the Atlantic to America' as an indicator of magnitude.

Does this mean GCAP's range is more than 5,000km(3,000 miles)?

That's terrifying. RAF could air raid Ural Mountains and JASDF could liberate Tibet, if this is true.

 

[Forest Green]

Surely that would be with drop tanks though?? Ferry range maybe.

 

[totoro]

Double the payload is almost certainly 8 amraams. No one outside lm and internet users gives the sidekick upgrade much thought.

Also, four 1 ton bombs? Unlikely.

Unless, of course, gcap will be sized similarly to j36. Which is also not plausible.

 

[Kiltonge]

Does this mean GCAP's range is more than 5,000km(3,000 miles)?

That's terrifying. RAF could air raid Ural Mountains and JASDF could liberate Tibet, if this is true.

All through the podcast the need for exceptional range is emphasised, to deal with the modern threat, and consequently GCAP / FCAS will be operating well beyond the link back to Wedgetail etc. Hence the need for lots of onboard computing to autonomously handle all the real-time ISR data flooding in from the sensors.

I'm not sure how that fits into the Italian concept of operations, as we've discussed here before. Seems perfect for Aus / Can though.

Another interesting comment was the refusal to call the Typhoon's ECRS2 a 'radar', rather a multifunction array, and that it will play 'thug' to the F-35B 'assassin' ike the Growler does for the F-35C. Suggests quite potent EW through the array.

 

[Ron5]

250-300 tri-national staff working face to face on a dozen threads of requirements.

Jeesh. Buried in millions of requirements - the British disease.