STAR.A.F WARS
Plans for UK’s next generation supersonic fighter jet equipped with ‘direct energy weapons’ under threat
However, Tempest could be scrapped by the new Labour government
PLANS for the UK’s next generation jet fighter — equipped with “directed energy weapons” — will be unveiled today.
The Tempest project may replace the RAF Typhoon in the 2030s.
3
3
It will be revealed at Farnborough International Airshow, but is threatened by a government spending review.
Tempest will have a larger wingspan and be equipped with “directed energy weapons” like lasers or radio wave guns capable of knocking out drones.
Set to cost £10billion over the next decade - the jet is reportedly now at risk after the new Labour government announced a review of UK defence spending.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard would not guarantee that GCAP would continue to fund the programme.
READ MORE ON THE RAF
He told a conference last week that the new fighter scheme was “really important”.
Pollard added: “It is not right for me to prejudge what might happen in the defence review.”
It came as the Army unveiled brand new battlefield tech, including a smart watch that can be used to control a drone.
The wearable kit has been tested by soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment - part of a trial overseen by the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
Most read in The Sun
How legendary fighter jets which blasted German Luftwaffe out the sky in airborne tussles ended up in muddy field
3
Topics