The Tempest jet plane concept was unveiled recently in the BAE Systems Farnborough Airshow pavilion by British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, in a joint partnership between RAF Rapid Capabilities Office and the British industry, which counts big names like Rolls-Royce and MBDA UK.
The Tempest plans to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in the near future and the fighter jet has been a closely guarded secret until now. It was also announced that around £2billion have been invested in the project.
The plane, when completely finished, will reportedly hold drones with artificial intelligence that will be capable of locating targets as well as host directed energy and hypersonic weapons.
The chief engineer for future defense programs at Rolls Royce, Conrad Banks, said that the engine technologies that will be included count distortion-tolerant fan systems and advanced composite materials that improve the thrust-to-weight ratio, to name a couple.
Probably one of the most interesting features of the fighter jet is actually its helmet, the Striker II, which is designed to give the pilot all the information it needs in order to make fast decisions without having to look around.
The necessary information is all placed onto the visor of the helmet, displayed at the same focal depth as the real world beyond it. In addition, it also has built-in night vision and can color-code enemies and friendlies. The entire system is software-based, so there will be no need to refurbish or alter the actual cockpit in order to upgrade it.
The Tempest is expected to be fully operational sometime in 2035.
You can watch the full unveiling video below:
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