FCAS is exploring and developing concepts at this stage and GCAP is still in early design so the viability of specific technology solutions is still being assessed against the requirements. The potential of quantum technologies is being monitored, noting the potential for high rate of change.

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, with the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) at its heart, is driving investment in a broad range of highly sought-after engineering and manufacturing skills, to keep the UK at the forefront of aerospace innovation. Digital first and data-driven, this includes skills such as model-based systems engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital engineering.

Since its inception, the UK Government has invested over £2 billion on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Tempest project. In addition to this, the project has attracted over £700 million of private investment since the programme began.

The expenditure on the Future Air Combat System (FCAS)/Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has supported concept development, enablers, technology maturation and capability demonstrations to deliver FCAS, including the core aircraft central to the system through the GCAP partnership.

The current Financial Year (FY) is ongoing therefore, figures will be finalised within the Departmental Accounts once FY2025-26 has concluded.

Delivery Confidence Assessments reflect that moment in time and will change throughout a programme's lifecycle. An assessment of Red does not mean that the programme is undeliverable, but that there are management interventions required as a priority in order to increase the likelihood of being able to deliver to approved time, performance and cost.

The National Armaments Director holds all the levers of procurement, enabling the necessary interventions to be applied in support of programmes assessed as Red.

The Concept and Assessment phase began in 2021 and it is on course to be completed in 2027.

BAE Systems is a prime contributor to the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, and the Warton site plays a central role in the development of advanced technologies, systems integration, and digital engineering as part of Team Tempest.

Future spending on Combat Air programmes will be determined through the Defence Investment Plan. No decisions have yet been made on either the amount to be spent on Combat Air or the proportion that will be spent on Typhoon, F-35 and the Global Combat Air Programme.

The figure related to an estimate of the number of jobs sustained across the Combat Air sector and its supply chains by the additional investment announced in the Strategic Defence Review over the next ten years. The estimate was based on internal analysis and some open-source data from the wider Combat Air industrial base.

The forthcoming ten-year Defence Investment Plan will outline the Department’s spending plans in line with the Strategic Defence Review and Spending Review outcomes.

The planned Combat Air investment will benefit every region of the United Kingdom in the next ten years. In a new era of threat, we need a new era for our defence industry and the Defence Industrial Strategy launched on 8 September 2025 is designed not just to spend more, but to spend smarter: speeding up development to delivery (factory to frontline) and ensuring our defence investment benefits local communities.

A significant proportion of investment will be devoted to companies in north-west England as a key region for the manufacture of fixed-wing military aircraft, and support of complex weapon systems from concept to delivery. The region also offers unique platform and system testing capabilities.

The Defence Investment Plan will be published in the Autumn and provide further detail on how we will deliver our Strategic Defence Review vision for Combat Air investment.

The Typhoon is a world-class combat aircraft and will continue to serve as the backbone of the UK's Combat Air Force until at least the 2040s. To ensure it remains at the cutting edge of capability, the UK is planning significant investment in the Typhoon through-life equipment programme. This includes the delivery and integration of the advanced European Common Radar System Mark 2 (ECRS Mk2) radar, which will enhance the aircraft's operational effectiveness. Further details on future Typhoon investment will be subject to the Defence Investment Plan, which will be published later this year.

The UK remains committed to exploring interoperability between the Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS) of the UK and France, which will form part of the wider combat air and multi-domain capabilities across Europe and NATO. The UK maintains a NATO-first approach to addressing interoperability. At the same time, the UK and France are working together to explore areas in which interoperability can be increased, such as communication and armaments systems. The UK and France are doing so through our military and industrial relationships, mutual sharing of technical roadmaps for missiles, and the FCAS Technology Development Cooperation mechanism, the second phase of which will focus on interoperability.

Progress continues to be made on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The core platform, that will sit at its heart, is being delivered through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

The GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) to oversee delivery on behalf of our partner governments, Japan and Italy, has been created. Additionally, on 13 December, BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC), reached an agreement to form a new company under a business joint venture for GCAP, subject to regulatory approvals.

Both the GIGO and the proposed Industry Joint Venture will have their Head Quarters in Reading.

Progress continues to be made on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The core platform, that will sit at its heart, is being delivered through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). The Prime Minister and his Italian and Japanese counterparts have reiterated their commitment to GCAP. The GCAP International Government Organisation to oversee delivery on behalf of all the partner governments has been created. On 13 December 2024, BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC), reached an agreement to form a new company under a business joint venture for GCAP, subject to regulatory approvals. The new joint venture will be accountable for the design, development and delivery of the next generation combat aircraft.

AI and autonomous technologies are developing rapidly and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) core platform is being designed to incorporate them as they mature. We assess that pilots will still have a crucial role to play when GCAP comes into service and that their role, and the overall capability of the aircraft, will be augmented substantially by AI and autonomous technologies. For example, extensive use will be made of these technologies to task sensors, triage data, and analyse combat situations more quickly. How and when we incorporate these cutting-edge technologies will be driven by their maturity and ongoing assessments as to what best enables us to fight and win most effectively in highly contested environments.

The cost and time to ensure safety, training, and certification of these technologies is being refined through modelling and operational analysis. As the focus is on bringing into service a capability that is initially both piloted and involves substantial AI/autonomous technology, distinct estimates for a crewed versus an uncrewed capability have not been made.

The crewed aircraft being developed by the Global Combat Air Programme will operate in a future combat air system that includes uncrewed capabilities. AI and autonomous technology will also be central to the development of these collaborative uncrewed capabilities. Analysis and assessment of procurement options for collaborative uncrewed capabilities to complement Typhoon, F35 and GCAP aircraft is underway.

We are in regular discussions with our Italian and Japanese partners on these issues, as together we seek to ensure we are ready to exploit technological opportunities for our joint military and industrial advantage.