An illustrative rendition of what the FCAS might look like. Airbus is currently working with the German government to define future requirements and threats as it looks to refine its concept for the platform. (Airbus DS)
The Anglo/French Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS) programme will likely see two variants of a base aircraft developed and delivered – one to each partner.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow 2016, Martin Rowe-Willcocks, BAE Systems’ Head of Sales – Future Programmes and Services, said that, among other aspects, given the emphasis that the programme will place on manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), separate variants will be needed in order to take into account the differences between the manned aircraft operated by France and the United Kingdom.
These will mostly focus on the communications systems and datalinks, Rowe-Willcocks stressed, and that a core platform and capability is being developed by BAE Systems and Dassault.
The projected timeline for FCAS sees a technical review taking place in 2020, with the demonstrator aircraft flying in 2025.
While BAE Systems and Dassault will be able to leverage the work undertaken on the Taranis and nEUROn efforts respectively, Rowe-Willcocks said that the specifications and sub-systems for the FCAS demonstrator will be determined by the operational requirements generated for the platform, rather than bringing in systems used on the technology demonstrator aircraft. For example, while Taranis and nEUROn both use the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour engine, this does not necessarily mean the FCAS aircraft would do so.
The operational requirements that the demonstrator will need to meet are still being determined and the possibility for the inclusion of an air-to-air refuelling capability is yet to be decided, Rowe-Willcocks said. He noted that this presents significant engineering challenges, in particular how to integrate a probe on board the aircraft and what level of automation the refuelling process would require.
Significantly, Rowe-Willcocks explained that the manned-unmanned aspect of FCAS operations could involve a level of control over the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) handed-over to the pilot of a manned aircraft that it is operating with.
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