{"id":97917,"date":"2026-08-05T15:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/97917\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T15:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:00:08","slug":"tempest-demonstrator-in-final-assembly-ahead-of-first-flight-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/97917\/","title":{"rendered":"Tempest demonstrator in final assembly ahead of first flight in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

The bulbous central fuselage section of BAE Systems’ CAFD demonstrator is seen underway at the firm’s facility in Samlesbury, Lancashire, in July 2026. Photo: BAE Systems<\/p>\n

Final assembly of the UK\u2019s Combat Air Flying Demonstrator (CAFD)<\/a> \u2013 a crewed prototype that will soon spearhead development of the sixth-generation Tempest<\/a> <\/a>stealth fighter under the wider Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)<\/a> \u2013 has surpassed the halfway mark ahead of its planned rollout and first flight in 2027.<\/p>\n

While BAE Systems<\/a> unveiled its first digital rendering of the CAFD in 2025, the firm has now released the clearest official image yet of the new demonstrator under construction. This new image was released shortly after BAE Systems presented a new model of the CAFD platform during the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three milestones. One clear direction for the future of UK combat air.<\/p>\n

With our Team Tempest partners, we’re building the UK’s next-generation combat air capability:<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfaf Half the Combat Air Demonstrator’s main structure is in final assembly
\ud83c\udfaf Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kjp30fW9HJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 BAE Systems (@BAESystemsplc) July 22, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

The recently released imagery shows the demonstrator\u2019s large low-observable (LO) fuselage being built at BAE Systems\u2019 Samlesbury facility in Lancashire. Current plans will see the platform\u2019s front, centre and rear fuselage sections mated together into what the firm calls the \u2018cigar tube\u2019 before the end of this year.<\/p>\n

Following its completion, the fuselage will be moved to the firm\u2019s nearby Warton facility in Lancashire \u2013 where the aircraft\u2019s wings and fins are now under construction \u2013 to complete the construction process and begin its rigorous ground\/flight-test campaign. In all, three wings and three fins are currently being built at Warton, with each set to be subjected to structural testing in the second half of this year.<\/p>\n

BAE Systems states that more than 11,500 CAFD-related parts have been designed and released to manufacture the demonstrator, accounting for roughly 90& of the aircraft\u2019s overall weight. More than half of these have already been built and either installed in the prototype\u2019s major units (i.e. fuselage sections and wings) or have been kitted out and readied for installation.<\/p>\n

\"AA digital rendering of BAE Systems\u2019 Tempest testbed, the Combat Air Flying Demonstrator (CAFD), which is expected to take flight before the end of 2027. Photo: BAE Systems<\/p>\n

Construction of the CAFD prototype is progressing rapidly, with production set to conclude during the first half of 2027. Initial power-on testing is scheduled to take place by the middle of next year, followed by engine ground runs and taxi trials \u2013 as is typical for any new aircraft platform. <\/p>\n

The demonstrator is expected to complete its maiden flight before the end of 2027, with the development team aiming to start achieving key test points and capability demonstrations in line with the wider GCAP requirements from early 2028.<\/p>\n

The ongoing production and development of the CAFD platform comes some 40 years after the last UK<\/a>-built fighter demonstrator, the British Aerospace EAP, completed its maiden flight in 1986. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe latest Tempest (or GCAP) mock-up on display outside the Edgewing chalet during FIA 2026. Image: Khalem Chapman<\/p>\n

This British-designed demonstrator \u2013 which now resides at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Shropshire \u2013 was used to test, de-risk and prove the key capabilities and technologies that were later fed into the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon<\/a> programme.<\/p>\n

Like how the EAP informed the Typhoon\u2019s overall development, the CAFD will do the same for Tempest under the trinational GCAP effort, which aims to deliver the new sixth-generation fighter<\/a> and its associated technologies to the air forces of Italy<\/a>, Japan<\/a> <\/a>and the UK through the 2040s and beyond. The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD)<\/a> plans for the first Tempest to enter service with the Royal Air Force (RAF)<\/a> in 2035.<\/p>\n

EJ200 aboard CAFD: A familiar powerplant?<\/p>\n

Rolls-Royce<\/a> is actively developing a new engine<\/a> <\/a>for the production-standard Tempest aircraft, but this powerplant will not be used by the CAFD. Instead, the demonstrator will be driven by a pair of less-powerful Eurojet EJ200<\/a> low-bypass afterburning turbofans \u2013 the same powerplant that is employed by the Typhoon. <\/p>\n

Despite the demonstrator\u2019s larger overall size and the reduced thrust output of its two EJ200 engines compared to the powerplant that will eventually drive the Tempest, industry officials have said that the CAFD will still possess fighter-like handling capabilities.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis view offers a glimpse of the ducting inside the CAFD\u2019s central fuselage section. Photo: BAE Systems<\/p>\n

Speaking during a briefing at FIA 2026, Phil Townley \u2013 Director of Future Programmes at Rolls-Royce \u2013 outlined how the firm plans to \u2018fool\u2019 the CAFD\u2019s two EJ200s into thinking that they are in a Typhoon using advanced control system algorithms. <\/p>\n

While the EJ200 face sits close to open air within the Typhoon\u2019s design, they will be placed behind a long duct in the CAFD to facilitate the Tempest\u2019s next-generation embedded engine design.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Tempest will employ a twin-spool power generation concept, with development having matured as sensor and effector power demands have grown clearer over time. The firm is also leveraging additive manufacturing to produce the engine\u2019s combustor, making it lighter, smaller and allowing the engine to be more compact. To achieve this, Rolls-Royce has opened a new digital additive cell at its Bristol facility to print it.<\/p>\n

\"AA cutaway image of the Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan engine. Two of these will be used to power the CAFD platform. Image: Rolls-Royce<\/p>\n

While Rolls-Royce has highlighted its success with the Orpheus powerplant, which was created for use by uncrewed platforms, as evidence of the quick pace of its modern engine development processes, the engine that will eventually drive the Tempest is being developed through a separate, trinational effort between the UK\u2019s Rolls-Royce, Italy\u2019s Avio Aero<\/a> and Japan\u2019s IHI Corporation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

During FIA 2026, the three firms said that design reviews had moved their centre line demonstrator for the powerplant closer to final approval following the completion of over 100 subscale component tests.<\/p>\n

What does BAE Systems\u2019 new CAFD scale model tell us?<\/p>\n

The new scale model of the CAFD demonstrator that was displayed by BAE Systems during FIA 2026 highlighted several key design features for the platform. It confirmed the platform will employ a long and broad serpentine fuselage, as well as trapezoidal outward-canted twin tailfins and no horizontal stabilisers.<\/p>\n

While these design features largely mirror those shown in concept renderings and images of production-standard Tempest aircraft, they do have some key differences. For instance, the CAFD will employ a trapezoidal tailfin design, which differs from the five-sided tailfin design that has been frequently used in Tempest renderings and mock-ups.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis scale model of the CAFD platform was on display at FIA 2026. This view offers a good glimpse at the unique wing shape of the demonstrator, as well as the trapezoidal vertical stablisers it will employ. Image: Khalem Chapman<\/p>\n

More key differences can be seen with the demonstrator\u2019s wing design. While initial Tempest concept imagery suggested the platform would boast a lambda wing-shape design, more recent renderings have shown that the platform has now adopted a large-area delta-wing. <\/p>\n

While the CAFD certainly leans into the design of the latter, it features some notable differences \u2013 namely incorporating some cranks on the inboard leading edge of the wings, along with cropped wingtips and a slight forward sweep on the wing\u2019s trailing edge.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis scale model of the CAFD platform was on display at FIA 2026. This view offers a unique look at the sheer width and size of the demonstrator. Photo: Khalem Chapman<\/p>\n

The image released by BAE Systems of the CAFD\u2019s centre fuselage section also offers a unique view of the generous internal space that will be available inside the aircraft. Within this space will be the EJ200 engines and their intakes, which will be placed deep within the fuselage, as well as spaces for the internal weapons bays that will be incorporated into the demonstrator\u2019s LO design.<\/p>\n

However, it remains important to note that this platform will remain a technology demonstrator<\/a> that serves to further inform, de-risk, test and develop the final configuration of the Tempest fighter. As current GCAP concept imagery suggests, the design of the fighter that will eventually enter operational service in the late-2030s will undoubtedly differ from the highly anticipated CAFD demonstrator suggests in a variety of areas.<\/p>\n