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Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
The race to build the fighter planes of the future
'THERE'S NEVER been anything even close to it—from speed to manoeuverability…to payload,' gushed Donald Trump, as he announced on March 21st that America's future fighter jet, the F-47, would be built by Boeing, an aerospace giant. The jet is one of several so-called sixth-generation aircraft on drawing boards around the world. In December China showed off what was believed to be a prototype of the J-36, an imposing plane with stealthy features and a large flying-wing design. Britain, Italy and Japan are co-developing their own plane, in Britain provisionally called the Tempest, which is due to enter service in 2035. France, Germany and Spain hope that their Future Combat Air System (FCAS) will be ready by 2040. Together, these represent the future of aerial warfare. Fighter jets tend to be categorised by their age, features and sophistication. The first generation appeared in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of those in NATO service today, like America's ubiquitous F-16, are fourth-generation ones, built from the 1970s to the 1990s. The latest fifth-generation planes, such as the F-35 and F-22, the latter perhaps the leading fighter jet in operation today, tend to enjoy stealth, the capacity for sustained supersonic flight and advanced computer systems. One shift they all predict is more, and better, surface-to-air missile systems, a lesson reinforced by the strong performance of air-defences in Ukraine. That requires more stealth to keep planes hidden from enemy radar. Stealth, in turn, requires smooth surfaces—bombs and missiles cannot hang off the wing, but must be tucked away inside a larger body. Keeping their distance A second shift is in the increasing range of air combat. For the past 40 years, the proportion of air-to-air kills that occur 'beyond visual range' has grown steadily—from a tiny fraction of all in the 1970s to more than half between 1990 and 2002. Since then air-to-air missiles have been able to travel ever farther. Europe's Meteor, with a 200km range, was at the forefront of technology when it was first tested a decade ago. America's AIM-174B and China's PL-17 can now hit things 400km away. That means planes need better sensors to spot and fire at targets from farther away; they also need better electronic warfare equipment to parry incoming threats. These technologies require more space to generate power and remove all the heat that electronics tend to produce. Finally, planes are especially vulnerable to long-range missiles when they are on the ground. That means they need to fly from more distant airfields, requiring larger fuel tanks and less drag for more efficient flight. The huge wings seen on the Tempest and the J-36 allow for both those things, notes Bill Sweetman, an aviation expert. Range is a particular concern for America. Its airbases in Japan are within reach of vast numbers of Chinese ballistic missiles. It plans to disperse its planes more widely in wartime and to fly them from more distant runways, such as those in Australia and on Pacific islands. Long-range planes are appealing for several reasons. 'We're talking about really extreme ranges,' notes Group Captain Bill, the Royal Air Force (RAF) officer in charge of thinking through how the service will use the Tempest, speaking recently (without his surname) on the 'Team Tempest' podcast, which is produced by the consortium building the aircraft. The plane will need to be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a single tank of fuel, he says, a journey that would require today's Typhoon jet to be refuelled three or four times. One reason for that might be that big refuelling tankers, which once sat safely to the rear of the front line, are increasingly vulnerable to new air-to-air missiles, like China's PL-17. Another is that the Tempest could then take circuitous routes, avoiding Russian air defences along the obvious paths. Put all this together and you get planes that look like old-fashioned bombers. Mr Sweetman compares the hulking J-36, with massive wings and cavernous weapon bays, to an 'airborne cruiser', optimised for range, stealth and carrying capacity over dogfighting agility. The single most important requirement for the Tempest is the ability to carry a lot of weapons, says Group Captain Bill, noting that it will have roughly double the payload of the beefiest F-35. That makes sense: if you can deliver more firepower per sortie, you can destroy a target with fewer risky flights into enemy airspace. 'The same answers tend to pop up for all,' says Mike Pryce, who has advised Britain's defence ministry on combat air design. 'Stand off, don't be seen, shoot first, don't get into a knife fight.' As the planes get bigger, their insides are also evolving into what are essentially 'flying supercomputers', says Roberto Cingolani, the CEO of Leonardo, an Italian company that is developing the wider Tempest programme along with Britain's BAE Systems and Japan's Mitsubishi. Leonardo says that the Tempest will be able to 'suck up' a medium-sized city's worth of data in one second, according to Tim Robinson of the Royal Aeronautical Society. That could include anything from radio traffic to the emissions of air-defence radars. The point is to share that data with friendly forces, including tanks and ships, says Mr Cingolani, perhaps via satellite, with a 'central artificial intelligence' making decisions—presumably which targets should be attacked, by what, and when. Some might suggest 'that's science fiction,' he says. 'No, that's a vision.' Flying together Perhaps the most contentious design choice is whether sixth-generation planes should have pilots. Elon Musk, Mr Trump's aide, recently mocked the fact that 'Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets.' In practice, most air forces believe that artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy are not yet mature enough to allow a computer to replace a human pilot entirely; that will take until 2040, reckons the RAF. Images of the F-47, though unreliable guides to the final product, depict 'a relatively large bubble canopy', notes Thomas Newdick of the War Zone, a website, 'providing the pilot with excellent vision'. Some missions are particularly sensitive: France will use the FCAS to deliver nuclear weapons, a task that may always remain a human prerogative. Nevertheless, the prevailing idea is that sixth-generation planes will be the core of a larger 'combat air system', in which a human in the cockpit controls a larger fleet of uncrewed drones, known, in American parlance, as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). 'The concept is that you have an aircraft-carrier that is flying,' says Mr Cingolani. 'It's an entire fleet that moves in the sky and makes decisions.' The human in the cockpit is best described not as a pilot, says Group Captain Bill, but as a 'weapons system officer', the RAF's term for someone managing sensors and weaponry. On May 1st America's air force announced that it had begun ground testing its two CCA prototypes in advance of flight tests later this year. Current order numbers suggest that each F-47 will get two CCAs. The drones might scout ahead, spot targets or carry weapons themselves—all within line-of-sight and under 'tight control', notes Frank Kendall, a former air-force secretary. Much of the intensive computing required to carry out these tasks will need to take place on board the crewed mothership, with relevant data shared to all craft instantaneously, says Mr Cingolani, speaking in the context of the Tempest. He emphasises that the communication links have to be secure. 'I'm not sure in ten years we can make it.' If he and his company can pull it off, it will cost a pretty penny. Mr Kendall, in the Biden administration, paused the development of the F-47 in large part because it was expected to cost twice as much as the F-35—perhaps as much as $160m-180m apiece—which would mean the government could afford only a small fleet of 200 or so planes. Many in the Pentagon wanted a greater emphasis on building CCAs to complement the existing fleet of F-35s, rather than pouring money into a new platform that might not turn up until long after a war with China. In Britain, Justin Bronk, an air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute, expresses similar concerns, drawing an analogy with the experimental versus war-winning weapons of the second world war. 'Pouring all the money that defence can spare…into a programme that, in the best case, will not deliver a fully operational capability before 2040 feels to me like the UK concentrating all Air Ministry resources on Avro Vulcan development in 1936,' he says, citing a plane that did not appear until a decade after the war was over, 'rather than Hurricanes, Spitfires, Blenheims, Whitleys and Wellingtons.' Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘Eurotank' firms form joint venture before talks with Germany, France
COLOGNE, Germany — The main contractors for the Main Ground Combat System have formed a joint project company to represent industry in upcoming contract negotiations with client nations Germany and France. The company, based here, represents KNDS Germany, KNDS France, Thales and Rheinmetall as the four parties at the top of a pyramid of suppliers. The contractors are charged with building a futuristic tank while showcasing Europe's unified arms industry at the same time. In a joint statement, the companies described the incorporation of the business as a 'further significant step' toward fielding the weapon by 2040. The MGCS program is one of two key weapon projects spearheaded by France and Germany. After haggling over workshare specifics for years, government leaders decided to have Germany lead the tank project while France would oversee a sixth-generation fighter program, the Future Combat Air System. Officials have said MGCS will go beyond fielding a new main battle tank for German and French ground forces that would ideally be adopted later on by European partners. The idea is, rather, to build a suite of interconnected manned and unmanned vehicles to revolutionize ground combat through firepower, sensors and artificial intelligence. The project is meant to produce a successor for Germany's Leopard 2, the most widely used modern battle tank in Western Europe, and France's Leclerc main battle tank. Battle tank concepts mushroom at Paris arms show Stefan Gramolla, a colonel in the German Army reserve, is managing director of MGCS Project Company, or MPC, according to the firms' joint statement. Gramolla's LinkedIn profile lists a two-month stint at Rheinmetall as well as a consulting job as his previous career stops. Next up for the joint company are negotiations with the defense-acquisition departments in Berlin and Paris about the next phase of the MGCS program. 'In particular, it will consolidate the concept and the main technological pillars of the system,' the statement reads. German and French defense officials last year approved a division of labor in the program. There are eight so-called pillars that cover everything from the chassis to weaponry to protection. One notable fork in the road will be the selection of a main cannon. France and Germany will initially develop a separate option each, with a winner technology to be picked after testing. The main gun is considered a key differentiator in future tank concepts, with engineers brooding over projectile size, shot range and ammunition feeder mechanisms. Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this report.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dassault CEO strikes dark tone on Europe's sixth-gen fighter progress
PARIS — Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier slammed the cooperation with Airbus on developing a European sixth-generation fighter jet, telling French lawmakers that working together is 'very, very difficult' amid continued bickering over work share. 'Something is not working,' Trappier said in a hearing of the National Assembly defense committee here on Wednesday. 'So it needs to be reviewed. It's not up to me to do that, it's up to the states to get together to figure out how to better manage this ambitious program.' France, Germany and Spain in December 2022 awarded Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Indra Sistemas and Eumet a €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion) contract for phase 1B of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), covering research, technology and overall design. That's after Dassault and Airbus reached agreement on the next-generation fighter earlier that month, after more than a year of squabbling. Dassault is the prime contractor for the new generation fighter or NGF at the heart of the combat system, with Airbus the main partner on behalf of Germany and Spain. After the development phase, the next step will be building a demonstrator in phase 2, which France has previously said would be announced in 2026, for a first flight scheduled in 2029. Wrangling between the partners over how to share the workload is causing delays, and reaching agreement on Phase 2 'is still going to take time, that's for sure,' according to Trappier. The French executive is typically outspoken, and has previously criticized how work on FCAS is organized. He has previously commented on working with Airbus, saying in a parliamentary hearing in May 2023 that FCAS was difficult with three partners, though the executive said at the time he was 'very confident in our capability to jointly develop a demonstrator.' In a response to his new testimony this week, Airbus said the FCAS program has made 'strong progress,' including the concept selection review achievement within the phase 1B contract. 'We are now on our way to phase 2 contracts,' the company said in an emailed statement to Defense News. 'We are committed to FCAS, which represents the backbone of the European defense industry and strategic autonomy,' Airbus said. 'We do believe in FCAS as a collaborative European industrial program, even more so in the current geopolitical context. That is our commitment from the beginning, to pursue a system of systems that goes beyond a future European fighter.' Meanwhile, Germany's new government said this week it plans to swiftly continue development of FCAS, according to the coalition agreement between the conservative CDU/CSU and the center-left SPD. Trappier said the fragmented work methodology of FCAS is a cause of delays, as 'each time we reopen pointless, endless discussions' with a push for more co-development and cooperation. Trappier said he disagrees with that model, and focus should be on prioritizing the best skills. While Dassault is the prime contractor, the French company weighs for only a third in decision making, with Airbus having two-thirds of the vote on behalf of Germany and Spain, Trappier said. That means the lead company on the NGF can't divvy up the work as it sees fit, the CEO complained. 'We have to constantly accommodate, constantly negotiate. It's what's called permanent negotiation. I hope we will reach an agreement to move forward,' he said. Calculations on the shape of the future aircraft have been completed, 'we know how to manufacture it, get it flying as quickly as possible,' the CEO said. 'I would be very much in favor of speeding things up.' Trappier mentioned the French-led nEUROn drone project as an example of what cooperation should look like, with six countries successfully developing an 'ultra stealthy' combat drone on a tight budget. The CEO said Dassault as manager of the program didn't compromise on the product for the sake of 'geo return,' the practice of guaranteeing nations a work share proportional to their investment, which Trappier called 'absolutely deadly for setting up a European cooperation.' While cooperation was successful on nEUROn, 'we don't have that today on the NGF and I'm very sorry about that,' the executive said. He said Dassault finds itself alone against two partners, having to 'persuade even more in order to reach decisions. It just takes a little more time.' Trappier said some FCAS partners such as Thales are leaders in the field of defense electronics due to France's history of seeking strategic autonomy, 'so when you implement the geo return at every phase, it's difficult.' Meanwhile, when Dassault Aviation wants to work with German partners, certain technology derived from the Eurofighter is off-limits unless something 'high-level' is provided in return, according to Trappier. 'Well, that doesn't work. So we're constantly bumping into these difficulties of work share,' he told lawmakers. Dassault Aviation makes France's Rafale fighter, while Airbus builds the Eurofighter in use in Germany and Spain. Both aircraft have roots in a multinational collaboration in the early 1980s on a future European fighter, with France opting to go it alone on the Rafale after disagreements over design authority and operational requirements. France wants a next-generation aircraft capable of fulfilling the nuclear-deterrence role, able to perform its missions 'without any constraints from any foreign country whatsoever,' and anything else would be a reason to stop the FCAS program, according to Trappier. The French fighter also needs to be able to operate from an aircraft carrier. Trappier said that if France chooses a path of mutual dependency with allies, 'there's no going back,' an argument that may resonate with French lawmakers attached to the country's policy of strategic autonomy in defense matters. 'We have to weigh what we are giving up to our allies, which may be normal in European cooperation and in a desire for European integration,' Trappier said. 'But that also means we will depend on each other.' Trappier was asked whether Dassault could go it alone should the FCAS program fail, and be able to provide France with a stealth-capable aircraft within a reasonable time frame. 'I don't want to sound arrogant at all, but whose capabilities do I need other than my own to make a combat aircraft?' Trappier said. 'So I'm willing to cooperate and share. I'm not against it, but I'm the one with the skills.' Trappier said the future fighter doesn't compete with the Rafale, which will operate alongside the new air combat system at some point. FCAS will be for beyond the 2040s, 'more like 2045,' the CEO said. Dassault is working on the future F5 standard for Rafale for 2030-2035, with a focus on connectivity and networking, and plans for a stealthy combat drone based on nEUROn as a loyal wingman. 'What we are trying to look at next is how we could make a future combat aircraft. Who with, that's the question.' The French state is committed to cooperation on FCAS to free up more resources and to contribute to 'a slightly more united Europe,' Trappier said. 'The problem is that when it comes down to the nitty gritty of the contracts, it's more complicated.' 'We will do the NGF, as for with who, that's not for me to answer,' Trappier said. 'That's up to the state, up to the politicians to say whether we should work with our traditional allies or not.' He told lawmakers that if the future combat aircraft is produced as it is conceived today, with three partners, 'Rafale will seem cheap to you.' France in January 2024 announced the purchase of 42 Rafale jets for more than €5 billion, or a cost of at least €119 million per aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron said in March he intends to order more Rafale fighters, with plans for two squadrons at the air base of Luxeuil-Saint-Saveur, which currently doesn't host the aircraft. Trappier said Dassault would welcome additional French orders, though the company hasn't received any yet.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ex-Airbus boss urges fast European push to build armed robots
By Tim Hepher PARIS (Reuters) - The former head of Airbus has urged Europe to shift attention for now from major arms projects to nimble new technologies like robotic drones to demonstrate to Moscow and Washington that it can make a difference to its security by the end of the decade. Former CEO Tom Enders, who led Europe's top aerospace group through some of its biggest funding battles, said planned new warplanes would play a key role in coming decades but that the immediate lessons from Ukraine required greater agility. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "We are there is maybe a window of three to five years before Putin might test (NATO) Article 5 in the Baltic States or elsewhere. So we have a certain time pressure," Enders told Reuters in a rare interview since leaving Airbus in 2019. "We want to deter the enemy but what can we do to strengthen that in three to five years? It is certainly not by the FCAS (fighter) programme, not by developing a new Franco-German tank. That all comes too late. We need to reactivate or increase existing production lines and we need to introduce these new intelligent systems as the Ukraine war has been teaching us." He added: "First and foremost, we need to really maximize the value of robots on the battlefield, particularly drones." The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), also known by its French abbreviation SCAF, is an effort by France, Germany and Spain to replace Rafale and Eurofighter jets in the 2040s, with Airbus and Dassault Aviation heading the work. The war in Ukraine has been characterised by unprecedented deployments of thousands of drones, helping Kyiv to temper the numerical advantage of Russian forces that invaded in 2022 and giving a sharp boost to the country's own defence industry. "It's happening right the Ukrainian battlefield. You can leapfrog these old systems if you focus on autonomous systems, robots, sensors and particularly drones," Enders said. EAST AND WEST Enders, who heads the German Council on Foreign Relations and is widely seen as a prominent Atlanticist in business, said the rift between Europe and Washington was the most serious since NATO was born in 1949 and should be a final wake-up call. "The U.S. voting with China and Russia against its long-term allies in the UN Security Council: what else does it take?" He said Europe had been wrong to consider Donald Trump's first presidency as an "aberration" in the long-standing transatlantic relationship, and that instead Joe Biden's single term seemed the exception to a shift of focus away from Europe. "Now we're facing a world where we have opponents as Europeans on two fronts in the East and in the West, and God knows how to classify China in this," Enders said. Enders said the European defence industry would in future be a mix between the big platform makers and risk-taking newcomers. His comments contrast with calls by some politicians to give more impetus to existing flagship projects like SCAF in response to the prospect that Washington will cancel security guarantees. The former Airbus CEO, who is also a board member of German technology startup Helsing, has co-authored a white paper calling for an immediate push into cutting-edge technology like robotics, AI and hypersonics, to be developed within Europe. Signatories to the 3-5 year view also include current Airbus Chairman Rene Obermann, taking part in a personal capacity. Enders said more money was now flowing into defence from the private sector after years in which many of Europe's banks and funds had shied away from defence for ethical investing reasons. "Even big banks are now interested in investing in defence and that is necessary to speed up the effectiveness of our armed forces and our deterrence. I'm taking these three to five years very seriously. In this crazy world, anything can happen."
Reuters
13-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ex-Airbus boss urges fast European push to build armed robots
PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - The former head of Airbus has urged Europe to shift attention for now from major arms projects to nimble new technologies like robotic drones to demonstrate to Moscow and Washington that it can make a difference to its security by the end of the decade. Former CEO Tom Enders, who led Europe's top aerospace group through some of its biggest funding battles, said planned new warplanes would play a key role in coming decades but that the immediate lessons from Ukraine required greater agility. "We are there is maybe a window of three to five years before Putin might test (NATO) Article 5 in the Baltic States or elsewhere. So we have a certain time pressure," Enders told Reuters in a rare interview since leaving Airbus in 2019. "We want to deter the enemy but what can we do to strengthen that in three to five years? It is certainly not by the FCAS (fighter) programme, not by developing a new Franco-German tank. That all comes too late. We need to reactivate or increase existing production lines and we need to introduce these new intelligent systems as the Ukraine war has been teaching us." He added: "First and foremost, we need to really maximize the value of robots on the battlefield, particularly drones." The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), also known by its French abbreviation SCAF, is an effort by France, Germany and Spain to replace Rafale and Eurofighter jets in the 2040s, with Airbus ( opens new tab and Dassault Aviation ( opens new tab heading the work. The war in Ukraine has been characterised by unprecedented deployments of thousands of drones, helping Kyiv to temper the numerical advantage of Russian forces that invaded in 2022 and giving a sharp boost to the country's own defence industry. "It's happening right the Ukrainian battlefield. You can leapfrog these old systems if you focus on autonomous systems, robots, sensors and particularly drones," Enders said. EAST AND WEST Enders, who heads the German Council on Foreign Relations and is widely seen as a prominent Atlanticist in business, said the rift between Europe and Washington was the most serious since NATO was born in 1949 and should be a final wake-up call. "The U.S. voting with China and Russia against its long-term allies in the UN Security Council: what else does it take?" He said Europe had been wrong to consider Donald Trump's first presidency as an "aberration" in the long-standing transatlantic relationship, and that instead Joe Biden's single term seemed the exception to a shift of focus away from Europe. "Now we're facing a world where we have opponents as Europeans on two fronts in the East and in the West, and God knows how to classify China in this," Enders said. Enders said the European defence industry would in future be a mix between the big platform makers and risk-taking newcomers. His comments contrast with calls by some politicians to give more impetus to existing flagship projects like SCAF in response to the prospect that Washington will cancel security guarantees. The former Airbus CEO, who is also a board member of German technology startup Helsing, has co-authored a white paper calling for an immediate push into cutting-edge technology like robotics, AI and hypersonics, to be developed within Europe. Signatories to the 3-5 year view also include current Airbus Chairman Rene Obermann, taking part in a personal capacity. Enders said more money was now flowing into defence from the private sector after years in which many of Europe's banks and funds had shied away from defence for ethical investing reasons. "Even big banks are now interested in investing in defence and that is necessary to speed up the effectiveness of our armed forces and our deterrence. I'm taking these three to five years very seriously. In this crazy world, anything can happen."
