- Adopt an Artefact
- Online Shop
- Collections
British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP)
| Serial No: | ZF534 |
| Period: | Post-WWII |
| Reference: | X005-5992 |
| Museum: | Midlands |
| Location: | Test Flight |
| On Display: | Yes |
The British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) was built as an advanced technology demonstrator. Originally it was to be a tri-national undertaking but both German and Italian Governments pulled out of the project. British Aerospace with help from Italian and German suppliers continued the programme alone.
EAP is fitted with computer controls screens replace dials in the cockpit and it features an unusual delta-canard configuration. It was rolled out in April 1986 and made its first flight later that year. In 1987 it made its 100th flight at the Paris Air Show.
The programme was a huge success and many of the features pioneered by EAP including the wing layout were later refined for the Eurofighter Typhoon. Having made its last flight in 1991 the aircraft spent time at Loughborough University as a training aid before coming to the RAF Museum in 2012.
Only one EAP aircraft was ever built.
Buy your gifts online
Great aviation gift ideas for all the family
Make a donation
Make a difference through a donation
Leave a Legacy
Leave a gift that inspires future generations
Schools and Colleges
Fascinating workshops to inspire the next generation
Collections Online
Explore our Collections online
Give Monthly
Give monthly to support our work year-round
British Aerospace EAP – Forefather of the Eurofighter
The British Aerospace EAP was an experimental aeroplane designed to address a variety of aeronautical concepts planned to be implemented in a new generation of European advanced fighters. Despite the rather bland name, the Experimental Aircraft Program had a rather glitzy developmental path, appearing in many top European airshows.
Considered by many as the most successful research vessel ever made, it was later repurposed as a test bed for the Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon, helping to reduce developmental costs by a considerable margin.
Eurofighter Development Program
Specifications.
From the late 1970s, in response to the desire of NATO-aligned European powers to produce an advanced modern fighter, the staff at British Aerospace began to research a twin-engined jet with a big centerline fin, large rear delta wings, and canards.
Read More: MiG-21 Fishbed – The AK-47 of Combat Aircraft
These would go on to become signature features of a research plane known as the Experimental Aircraft Program (EAP).
The EAP would also grow out of several earlier projects spearheaded by many powerful Western nations. The first, known as the European Combat Fighter (ECF), was originally a partnership between the German and British governments in 1979, but when the French manufacturer Dassault got involved the next year, the name was changed to the European Combat Aircraft (ECA).
However, the ECA soon broke apart when the French, at odds with its multinational partners, demanded that the craft be fractionally lighter, while the rest of the members remained divided over whether a carrier-based naval version should also be assembled.
Unperturbed by the breakdown in governmental cooperation and sensing that a lot of money could be made, aviation manufacturers were the next to pitch their ideas. In response an Industrial Avionics Working Group comprising of BAE, GEC Avionics, Ferranti, and Smith Industries was formed in the UK, while Aeritalia, Rolls Royce, MBB, and other industry bigwigs undertook their own private assessments.
Efforts culminated in April 1982 when BAE, MBB, and Aeritalia offered a joint proposal called the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA).
After a mock-up was exhibited at the 1982 Farnborough Air Show, the ACA was allocated government support from Britain, Germany, and Italy who expected a flyable prototype, imaginatively known as the Experimental Aircraft Program, to make its first flight on April 30th 1986.
Soon after though, the Germans and Italians both decided to pull out of the project entirely, leaving only the British.
Despite their governments’ unexpected withdrawals and against official advice, many German and Italian companies still played a major part in the EAP, supplying many of its components and hardware often for free.
Read More: De Havilland Comet – Fantastic but Flawed
Overall, the EAP was to be primarily a demonstrator built from advanced materials tasked with experimenting many novel concepts such as a departure prevention system that kicked in at high angles of attack, and the extent to which the EAP could be digitally controlled.
More broadly, it would evaluate the characteristics of an unstable aircraft and the merits of flight control systems and delta canards at speeds of up to Mach 2.
Painted with a mixture of pale blue, dark blue, black, grey, white and yellow, the EAP was 17.72 meters in length, 5.52 meters high and had an empty weight of 10,000 kilograms, while its wings had a span of 11.97 meters and an area of 48.31 meters squared.
Fitted with an area rule fuselage to minimize the drag from supersonic waves, a radome nose, and a modified Panavia Tornado fin , the EAP’s aerodynamic profile was further assisted by the inclusion of a set of large cranked delta-wings for high lift and a pair of streamlined canard wings at the front.
Similar to the Grumman X-29 , the wings of the EAP were aero-elastically tailored so that they didn’t deform under heavy pressure. Roll and pitch control was determined by full-span trailing edge flaps while leading edge flaps could be electronically manipulated by a flight control system which optimized wing camber and maximised manoeuvrability in accordance with flight conditions.
The EAP had a top speed in excess of Mach 2 and was blasted through the air using a set of Turbo-Union RB.199 MK 104D engines, also found in the RAF Tornado F.3 Interceptor, which were fed by approximately 10,000 pounds of fuel housed in 14 receptacles lined along the fuselage as well as two integral wing tanks.
However what set the EAP truly apart was the catalogue of cutting-edge avionics covering communications, navigation, utility services management, and flight control. Particularly impressive was the demonstrator’s utility services management system (USMS), which linked over 600 different kinds of input and output signals from electronically controlled devices located in every part of the aircraft such as those regulating hydraulic systems control, anti-skidding, cockpit temperature monitoring, and secondary power system control to name just a few.
Being an experimental craft the EAP was highly unstable, meaning that the Flight Control Computers (FCC) had to work three times as fast as contemporary aircraft. One pilot even described it as: “like steering a bicycle pushed rear-end first by the handlebars whilst sitting in the front of a 60 mph car.” Perhaps for the best then, no military equipment was ever fitted on the EAP apart from dummy weapons carried in a low-drag position.
Following the competition of a series of weighing and ground tests with a partly complete unit on October 27th 1985, the single EAP, ZF534, which was the first British single-seat ‘fighter’ prototype since the 1960s, was proudly unveiled at BAE’s Warton plant by chief executive Sir Raymond Lygo on April 18th 1986.
Read More: Mil V-12 – The Biggest Helicopter Ever
Going forward, the initial flight testing program was to be funded by BAE and would last 3 and a half months and cover 50 flights, while the UK Ministry of Defense would cover the costs afterwards.
With the ground engine and text tests completed over the summer, on August 8th 1986 the EAP flew for 67 minutes with Tornado test pilot David Eagles at the controls, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.1 at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
On the other hand, the EAP’s dream start was somewhat marred by a test flight in September when test pilot Chris Yeo lost power on all the computer screens while attempting a 1g to 4g ‘rollercoaster’ manoeuvre.
With the backup power system, fortunately, switching on, Yeo was able to safely land the craft and the fault, a 10-millisecond power interruption, was swiftly dealt with to prevent repeat occurrences. All fixed up, that same month the EAP made its first public display at the Farnborough Air Show for its 21st flight without a hitch.
In October and November, high-angle of attack trials were commenced, and by May 1987 the EAP had been installed with an anti-spin parachute in preparation for the main phase of flight research.
During one particular trial on May 1st, the EAP was flown with a 25-degree angle of attack and a 200 degrees per second roll rate, with assessors noting a considerable improvement in turn performance in comparison to other aircraft. For the EAP’s 100th flight, it was exhibited at the 37th Paris Air Show, where pilot Peter Orme had the privilege of taking it for a spin in front of the French president.
Following a further spurt of experiments focusing on flight loads, on March 28th 1988 the EAP was modified to fix stability issues at high speeds, permitting it to fly at speeds above Mach 1.64 and to travel through the wake of other aircraft if necessary.
The beginning of the fourth phase of testing on July 27th 1988 also marked the moment that the EAP became involved in the Eurofighter development program that would go on sire the Eurofighter Typhoon.
That day the EAP was used to compare flight load data with a wind tunnel tested scale-model of the Typhoon, eventually leading to a fifth round of examinations commencing in 1989 in which the EAP was fitted with a Eurofighter airbrake and also entered into Electromagnetic Compatibility trials at facilities in Warton and Boscombe Down.
Towards the end of this fifth stage on October 4th 1989 the EAP was publicly showcased at the Red Arrow’s Silver Anniversary Airshow in anticipation for the next phase of Eurofighter testing which was to begin on October 14th. After 259 test runs and a total of 195.21 flying hours, the EAP performed its last flight on May 1st 1991 at the BAE airfield at Warton.
With its engines dismantled the EAP was next repurposed as an educational tool at the Department of Aeronautical, Automotive Engineering and Transport Studies at Loughborough University, where from June 27th 1996 it was used by undergraduates for design appreciation exercises.
Read More: Lockheed D-21 – A UFO Spotter’s Dream
Finally, on November 5th 2013, the EAP was placed on public display in the Test Flight hangar at RAFM Cosford where it can still be viewed today.
As a result of the EAP program, a House of Commons Accounts Committee proclaimed that 850 million pounds had been saved on the Eurofighter’s development cost, making it perhaps the most successful research aircraft ever built.
If you like this article, then please follow us on Facebook and Instagram .
- Crew: 1
- Length: 48 ft 2.75 in (14.7003 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 7 in (11.76 m)
- Height: 18 ft 1.5 in (5.525 m)
- Wing area: 560 sq ft (52 m 2 )
- Empty weight: 22,050 lb (10,002 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 32,000 lb (14,515 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Turbo-Union RB199-104D 3-spool turbofan engine, 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust each dry, 17,000 lbf (76 kN) with afterburner
- Maximum speed: Mach 2 at 11,000 m (36,100 ft)
- Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
You may also like
30 years of hurt - is UK combat aircraft design coming home?
With TEAM TEMPEST, the UK has revealed its goal to stay in the manned fighter business. MICHAEL J PRYCE , Academic Lead for Policy Engagement - Cranfield Defence & Security and member of the MoD Independent Scientific & Technical Advice (ISTA) register, advising on the recent Combat Air Strategy, gives the background to reviving Britain’s design capabilities.
This past year marks the centenary of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Much has been made during this year of the heritage of design and support that the UK aerospace industry has provided during that time. What this has masked is that for a full third of its life the RAF has not had an industry that can meet its needs for bespoke aircraft designs.
Thirty years ago the design teams that had produced the Harrier, Lightning and other famous British aircraft were effectively destroyed by changes in government policy and the changes in industry that followed. As Britain seeks to revive its combat air sector, can there ever be another fighter design team like those led by R J Mitchell, Freddie Page or Ralph Hooper?
What made these famous designers successful was the capability of small, close knit teams of future project designers at the heart of their wider design organisations. These small design teams provided the fundamental source of original aircraft design ability in the industry.
Design, cancel, design again
BAC TSR2 XR219 on the apron at Boscombe Down in 1964 (RAeS/NAL).
They did this by working closely with the RAF and the scientific Civil Service to evolve requirements and evaluate new designs. The relationship was far from a cosy one. Cancellation of projects was a key part of the technical control of design. The infamous Sandys White Paper of 1957 followed from the RAF’s view that changes in warfare meant fighter aircraft were no longer essential. The notorious cancellation of the TSR2 was brought about by explosive cost growth and poor technical performance. The causes and effects of both were well understood by the RAF, and were seen to lie in weaknesses within design teams.
Aiming for second
The Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) was the technology demonstrator which 'gave birth' to the Eurofighter Typhoon (BAE Systems)
It was as a domestic supplier to a critical and informed RAF that the British aircraft industry could still, by the mid-1980s, be the second largest in the West. Despite cancellations, policy changes, governmental and industrial reorganisations, and even nationalisation, the private British aircraft industry succeeded because of its intimate links to the procurement system of the state. All that changed from 1985.
The most notable procurement decision made that year was the agreement, with West Germany and Italy, to go ahead with the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) programme. The ‘Turin Agreement’ in August 1985 was the culmination of many years of lobbying by parts of industry for a new fighter aircraft that the RAF did not want. Unable to have the supersonic ‘jump jet’ that it had decided in 1981 was the real future operational need, the RAF agreed to take the EFA as an interim type in order to fill factory capacity. A combined Tornado and Harrier replacement, assumed to be a supersonic ‘jump jet’, was delayed until the first decade of the 21st century. As an interim aircraft, EFA was supposed to be easy and cheap; it was expected to go out of service by 2015.
The second significant change, announced by Michael Heseltine in 1984, was to centralise the generation of military requirements. Allowing individual services to draft their own ones was thought to have allowed too many design projects to be started. In future, greater analysis of basic technologies and the broad capabilities of the military were to proceed in advance of project selection, with ministers far more involved in approving projects. However, this stopped early discussions with industry that had allowed requirements to be informed by technical realities. The small concept design teams were cut off from their customers and starved of resources.
The third major change in the mid-1980s further distanced those who set requirements from those who could meet them. Led by the industrialist Peter Levene, who became Chief of Defence Procurement, a policy of greater competition for contracts put in place a more adversarial relationship in defence procurement. In line with wider government policy, this sought to eliminate the worst excesses of the previous, supposedly cosy, relationship with monopoly suppliers. The pre-competition informal discussion of the detail of requirements and possible designs was made deliberately harder in order to make the competitive process work better commercially.
A fourth area of change that made the relationship with industry more business-like was the separation of maintenance from procurement. A National Audit Office report in 1984 had illustrated that 48% of the RAF’s direct resources, rising to 60% when indirect ones were added in, was attributable to maintenance. By early 1985 a proposal for a ‘Maintenance Executive’ in the MoD was being discussed, to reorganise the RAF’s support functions and to contract them out to industry where possible. Maintenance was now seen as a separate activity from development. Rather than something of concern to the designer, to minimise support costs at the concept stage, it became another potential revenue stream for companies.
International collaboration
The P.1214-3 was a 1980s British Aerospace (BAe) concept for ASTOVL successor to the Harrier. (BAE Systems)
The fifth change in 1985 was a greater focus on international collaboration and export sales, with a view to limiting equipment costs through economies of scale. For Michael Heseltine, the EFA project had been an early priority. His desire for large European projects was to prevent the UK and Europe from being ‘like Toytown’ compared to the Americans. EFA was to be ‘far and away the biggest industrial deal that Britain had ever done’. Similarly large was the Al-Yamamah arms deal, initiated in September 1985 and ‘then the largest contract ever won by British industry’. Earlier in the 1980s the experience of collaboration with Europe on projects like Tornado had led to a belief that a purely national project might be preferable. This idea was swept away by EFA.
The implications of these five changes became clear as soon as work started on the next major RAF programme, an advanced ‘jump jet’ to succeed the Harrier and Tornado. The loss of the small amounts of money for design work for initial project work from the RAF had, by 1988, led to the closure of all but one design team within British Aerospace that could tackle early concept work, with an associated lack of diversity in thinking and approach in the early project design stage.
The replacement of Tornado and Harrier led to an ever increasing number of broad studies rather than the in-depth design of aircraft. Studies termed the Next Combat Aircraft (NCA) by British Aerospace, and the Combat Aircraft Beyond EFA (CABE) by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) were not part of a dialogue between those drafting a requirement and those developing designs for aircraft in response. Rather, they existed to explore the background technologies and their possible use in advance of incorporating them into a realistic design intended for development.
NCA looked at manned and unmanned aircraft, technologies like stealth and the benefits of mixes of old and new aircraft. This included a 1988 study of how BAe might get more money by extending the life of aircraft and maintaining them in place of developing new aircraft.
CABE was ‘an RAE initiative concerned with total systems requirements for the future’. It too looked at a range of possible solutions, with a view to identifying the type of technologies and capabilities that would shape future requirements. What is striking is that BAe and the RAE did not share their work on NCA and CABE. The changed procurement system had led to a separation between them. Market mechanisms like competition and taut contracts, as well as the change to broad concept exploration rather than the design of specific aircraft, had fundamentally changed what was done.
Advanced studies
Future Offensive Air System (FOAS) was launched as a UK concept in the 1990s as a project to develop a strike successor to the Tornado. It was cancelled in 2005. (BAE Systems)
Since the late 1980s further studies, under acronyms such as FOAS, DPOC and FCAS, have been carried in line with this new approach. Such studies have produced very little hardware and nothing for front-line RAF use. The EFA and Hawk models on the British Aerospace stand at the Paris Air Show in 1985 represent the most common aircraft in RAF service today and the ones still being built and exported by BAE Systems.
That studies do not result in practical aircraft designs is due to a range of factors. Resources are part of this – the US can always spend more on the expensive development stage than the UK but studies are cheap. Stealth is a good illustration of this – the UK had long explored this technology but did not have the money to rapidly apply it in the 1980s. This inevitably led to the consideration of direct purchases of US stealth aircraft as part of the CABE studies and the resulting minor stake in the F-35 programme.
At the heart of the pre-1985 approach to procurement was close working between those developing detailed requirements in the MoD and small teams in industry doing early concept design that informed the requirements with engineering reality. Taking front-line experience, threat analysis and other factors into account, they worked to generate realistic aircraft designs. Despite a mixed track record of delivery in time, cost and performance terms, at least delivery occurred, and RAF requirements were broadly met.
The changes in 1985 took away the ability of UK industry to deliver new designs to the RAF front line; only subcontracting on larger US programmes has been possible since EFA got the green light. Recent purchases and interest in US-sourced anti-submarine, airborne early warning and heavy lift helicopters further emphasise how the more commercial approach to procurement leads to reduced national development abilities.
Design capability
BAE's Replica, revealed in 2003, was a full-size engineering model of a stealth fighter to test RCS. (BAE Systems)
Current attempts to revive the national ability to generate meaningful design capability seek to address these issues but do so with the legacy of 1985 still hanging around their neck. Changing the managerial approach to working with industry does not get back to a truly close working relationship, where requirements generation is informed by experienced design teams who have recently developed front-line aircraft. Team Tempest faces a formidable challenge if something more than mock-ups are not to be the result of current work.
For over 30 years the ability of the UK aerospace industry to design and deliver new aircraft concepts has been effectively dead. Whether it can rise, Lazarus-like, from the tomb of studies and technology demonstrators will be a major challenge. As the UK seeks to move back to being able to do this, through the Combat Air Strategy, it will take a concerted effort to change the context within which it tries to acquire capability. Much of that effort rightly focuses on the people needed and what they do.
A recent Royal United Services Institute discussion on the Combat Air Strategy looked at some of the work carried out in recent years into sustaining UK aerospace skills. A RAND study has identified almost 15,000 people in the combat air sector who had some involvement in the ‘noble’ work of design engineering. What is lacking are the relatively small number of people able to carry out the design of practical new aircraft projects, rather than modify existing systems or carry out broad technology studies. The UK aerospace industry has not seen such ‘royal’ work, which generates the intellectual property that is truly valuable, for many years. The displacement of the traditional small project design teams by broad studies of systems has replaced it.
How can such teams be created if they have not been at work in industry in recent decades? Attempts to inspire young people into the industry have highlighted some of the challenges of attracting new talent – the recent problems of the Bloodhound SST project have been partly attributed to jet and rocket powered vehicles not connecting with a younger generation’s view of an eco-friendly, electric future. If the real answer to the UK’s revival of Combat Air industrial capabilities is the creation of small teams of highly skilled, experienced designers, then what is needed is the inspiration of the few, not the many. The need for experience means that many of those few will need to come from the current ranks of engineers inside and outside of aerospace, many born well before the changes of the 1980s, rather than those who grew up in the world those changes created.
The leader of one of the old teams, Ralph Hooper, has said that a good project design group is like a football team. Skills are needed but so is an understanding of the individual team’s way of playing the game. Many years of study of these design teams has shown me that a small number of capable, experienced people, who have done work at the computer screen, on the shop floor and who understand the front line realities, are immensely valuable. Their abilities are easily lost if the team is broken up. The number of people in such teams can be similar to a football team as well – a core of between seven and a dozen seems to be essential to communicating the early, fundamental design decisions that no amount of data driven multi-variate analysis can replace.
The key to the future of UK Combat Air may lie in creating and sustaining a number of these small design teams, supported by a wider ecosystem of engineering and operational expertise. It was the loss of these teams in the 1980s that stifled the plans to replace Harrier and Tornado with a UK-designed aircraft. If such a thing is to replace Typhoon in the future, if the 30 years of hurt is to end, then the basic approach to design will need to change to allow it to ‘come home’ once more.
Dr Michael J Pryce 4 December 2018
- Engineering & Design
- Flight Simulation
- Flight Test
- Weapon Systems & Technology
- News & Features
- Industry News
Disrupting the military trainer market
Can a UK start-up bring the Airbus-style common family concept to the military fighter training market? TIM ROBINSON reports on progress with Aeralis, developing a unique modular trainer designed to slash the costs of fighter pilot training.
Wearable cockpits - the ultimate human-machine interface?
Can BAE Systems' 'wearable cockpit' technology liberate avionics upgrades from the airframe – and open up a new era in human-machine interfaces? TIM ROBINSON considers one of the next leaps in combat aircraft technology.
UK mulls sixth generation fighter project
TIM ROBINSON reports ahead of the release of the UK’s Combat Air Strategy as Britain grapples with a fundamental aerospace industrial question – what comes after F-35 and Eurofighter?
- Cover Letters
- Jobs I've Applied To
- Saved Searches
- Subscriptions
- Marine Corps
- Coast Guard
- Space Force
- Military Podcasts
- Benefits Home
- Military Pay and Money
- Veteran Health Care
- VA eBenefits
- Veteran Job Search
- Military Skills Translator
- Upload Your Resume
- Veteran Employment Project
- Vet Friendly Employers
- Career Advice
- Military Life Home
- Military Trivia Game
- Veterans Day
- Spouse & Family
- Military History
- Discounts Home
- Featured Discounts
- Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
- Electronics
- Join the Military Home
- Contact a Recruiter
- Military Fitness
Experimental Aircraft Program
BAE Systems: “The Experimental Aircraft Programme, the EAP, was the technology demonstrator which 'gave birth' to the technology behind our Typhoon jet. Built by ourselves in the 1980s, it was the most advanced fighter aircraft ever built, and brought together technologies never seen before to make it an aircraft which was ahead of its time. It began life in May 1983, when our predecessor company - British Aerospace signed a contract with the British Government for its development. The programme was for a one-off research aircraft to test pioneering technology aimed at creating an advanced fighter aircraft.” Learn more at http://www.baesystems.com/enhancedarticle/BAES_165232/experimental-airc…
Related Videos
Military videos.
- Shock & Awe
- Military.com Originals
- Fitness Videos
- Military Life
- Most Popular
Select Service
- National Guard
Most Popular Videos
A decommissioned World War II-era destroyer docked near downtown Buffalo in New York is taking on water and listing...
The final trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick," the sequel to Tony Scott's 1986 blockbuster smash, "Top Gun," which cemented...
Vast swaths of Ukraine have been transformed into potential crime scenes. Each day, the tragedies multiply, creating an insurmountable...
Popular Video Categories
- Sniper Videos, Sniper Rifles, Sniper Kills: The Best of the Best
- Guns and Weapons
- Vietnam War
- Afghanistan
- Special Operations
- World War II
Military.com Original Video Series
Your browser is not supported
Sorry but it looks as if your browser is out of date. To get the best experience using our site we recommend that you upgrade or switch browsers.
Find a solution
- Skip to main content
- Skip to navigation
- hot-topics Trending now
- Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2024
- Airline Business podcast
- First Flight - a new podcast
- Women in Aviation
- Sustainable Aviation newsletter
- 2024 World Air Forces directory
- Singapore Airshow 2024
- Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2023
- Final Boeing 747 delivery
- 2023 Industry forecast
- 2023 World Air Forces directory
- Farnborough 2022
- What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?
- Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022
- Ukraine crisis
- The Pilot Survey 2022
- What does the future of aviation look like in 2022?
- World Air Forces directory 2022
- Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?
- EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence
- World Airline Rankings 2021
- IATA AGM 2021
- Top 100 aerospace companies
- Defending across the domains
- FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021
- 737 Max: Two years on
- The Pilot Survey 2021 Report
- Helicopter Report
- Sustainability at Paris
- Back to parent navigation item
- Systems & Interiors
- Helicopters
- Air transport
- Orders & Deliveries
- Business aviation
- North America
- Latin America
- Asia Pacific
- Middle East
- Military UAVs
- Flight International
- Subscribe to Flight International
- Flight International Opinion
- 110 years of Flight
- Airbus at 50
- Honeywell: Shaping the Future
- CAE: Sky's no limit
- Events & webinars
- Upcoming webinars
- On demand webinars
- Airline Strategy Awards 2024
- Airlines 2024 – Website coming soon
- Airline Business
- More from navigation items
UK reveals rapid progress on sixth-generation fighter demonstrator effort
The UK is making strong early progress with its sixth-generation flying technology demonstrator programme, with its industry partners having already performed tests on key engine, crew escape and flight control technologies.
Announced at the Farnborough air show in July 2022 under a UK-only effort supporting the development of a Tempest fighter as part of a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) capability, the demonstrator effort remains on schedule to achieve first flight in mid-2027, officials say.
Source: BAE Systems
Martin-Baker’s Mk16A ejection seat has completed firing trials from representative cockpit section
On 13 June, BAE Systems – a joint member of the Team Tempest industry group, alongside Rolls-Royce and the UK arms of Leonardo and MBDA – for the first time invited journalists into a new facility at its Warton site in Lancashire dedicated to the demonstrator effort.
Systems on display included a low-observable airframe-compatible engine inlet and duct design, which underwent rig-based aerodynamic testing between November 2022 and February this year. This was trialled in combination with an unmodified Eurojet EJ200 turbofan – sourced from a Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon – at R-R’s Filton site near Bristol.
While the Team Tempest partners have not revealed the overall design of the demonstrator vehicle, its large scale is indicated by the engine duct having a length of roughly 10m (32ft 8in) from the intake to the front of the engine. It has been “uniquely shaped to slow the air from supersonic to subsonic speeds at the engine face”, they note.
Source: Rolls-Royce
Filton test rig mated EJ200 engine with ‘sixth-generation’ intake and duct
Conrad Banks, R-R’s chief engineer defence future programmes, describes the test activity as having been “fully successful”, by proving the ability of the engine to perform without experiencing air distortion or resonance issues.
“The important thing here is to make the EJ200 think that it’s sitting in a Typhoon,” he says of the demonstrator’s “sixth-generation installation”, as this will enable the powerplant to be operated using established flight clearance protocols.
The architecture tested in Filton has already been validated for use on the twin-engined test aircraft, Banks confirms.
Flight demonstrator will have a roughly 10m-long duct from intake to engine
The supersonic demonstrator will be the UK’s first such asset since its Experimental Aircraft Programme of the early 1980s, which preceded the development of the Typhoon. Key design aspects also will include the use of low observability shaping techniques, similar to those that are likely to be employed on the Tempest platform.
Meanwhile, in another early development, work has already been completed on the demonstrator’s crew escape system, which is centred on a Martin-Baker Mk16A ejection seat – also common to the Typhoon.
A test campaign started in February 2022 with a static firing to evaluate a canopy design incorporating technology from BAE’s Hawk advanced jet trainer. This was followed by two sled test seat qualification firings each at forward speeds of 280kt (518km/h) and 450kt, involving both lightweight and heavy instrumented mannequins being successfully deployed from a representative forward fuselage design.
Housed within Warton’s Hangar 5, the new demonstrator facility currently accommodates four integrated development rigs; respectively assigned to its cockpit, flight control system management, computing and models, and utility management system.
Employing a mix of hardware, emulators and digital models, the so-called hybrid rig is enabling pilots to fly the future design in a simulator. Engineers also are currently assessing the performance of hydraulic actuators for its wing and tail.
To date, 10 pilots – from BAE, R-R and the RAF – have evaluated the simulator, logging more than a combined 170 test hours through roughly 125 sorties. BAE notes that it is also using this process to help inform the design of the flight control system, by “capturing crucial data about how the jet will handle and perform, years before its first flight”. It also is employing “auto coding, to create safety-critical systems software”.
Neil Strang, BAE’s Tempest delivery director, says the early successes underscore the demonstrator’s importance as a “catalyst” for the Global Combat Air Programme, which also involves the defence aerospace industry champions of Italy and Japan. Around 1,000 people are currently working in support of the demonstrator effort, he says, adding: “We are moving at pace, and de-risking the [Tempest] programme.”
He also reveals that the UK is exploring the possible expansion of its demonstrator programme to also include Italian and Japanese involvement.
“We are talking to our Italian and Japanese colleagues now about how we can embrace them on the demonstrator,” he says.
Also speaking at Warton, Air Commodore Martin Lowe, FCAS programme director for the UK Ministry of Defence, describes the combat air demonstrator as “a hugely important part” of the wider effort, along with separate radar and engine technology initiatives.
Tempest fighter is due to enter use from 2035
The Tempest platform is due to enter operational use with the RAF in 2035, as a replacement for its multi-role Typhoons.
More from Craig Hoyle
Russia unveils Yak-130M light-attack aircraft development
Affinity boss looks to build on UK military training pedigree
Qinetiq lands 10-year aerial training services deal with German military
Related articles.
French general underlines importance of stealth, manoeuvrability for NGF
2023-10-30T09:09:00Z By Greg Waldron
A French general has underlined that the New Generation Fighter (NGF) being developed by France, Germany and Spain will rely heavily on stealth and manoeuvrability, even though it will be far more than a traditional fighter aircraft.
2024-08-15T17:20:00Z By Craig Hoyle
Yakovlev has unveiled a modernised variant of its Yak-130 advanced jet trainer, with the enhanced platform to be capable of performing light-attack missions.
Airbus Helicopters stays hopeful of European collaboration on future military rotorcraft
2024-08-15T14:17:00Z By Dominic Perry
Airbus Helicopters chief executive Bruno Even remains hopeful that it can forge a partnership with Leonardo to develop a next-generation European military helicopter, despite its rival partnering with US manufacturer Bell to promote tiltrotor-based platforms.
More from Defence
USAF can no longer count on overseas bases for power projection
2024-08-14T20:30:00Z By Ryan Finnerty
Top service leaders within the US Air Force say forward air bases can no longer be counted upon as sanctuaries for US forces in the era of modern conflict, and recently completed military exercises aimed to test new methods of generating combat sorties.
2024-08-14T14:32:00Z By Craig Hoyle
Affinity Flying Training Services is looking to extend its support for military aircrew instruction in the UK and for potential international customers.
Thailand grasps for sweeter offsets in fighter competition
2024-08-14T07:05:00Z By Greg Waldron
Thailand’s government has extended the deadline to accept offers in a competition that pits the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 against the Saab Gripen E/F.
- Advertise with us
- Conferences and Events
- Newsletters
- Paid content
FlightGlobal is the global aviation community’s primary source of news, data, insight, knowledge and expertise. We provide news, data, analytics and advisory services to connect the aviation community globally and help organisations shape their business strategies, identify new opportunities and make better decisions faster.
- Announcements
- Terms and conditions
- Cookie policy
- Privacy policy
- © DVV Media International Limited
- Connect with us on Facebook
- Connect with us on Twitter
- Connect with us on Linked in
- Connect with us on Youtube
Site powered by Webvision Cloud
Unlock our take on the stories that matter for just £22 a month
Breaking news, expert analysis, member-first insights and commentary on the global aviation industry.
UK Tempest Flying Technology Demonstrator Program: Stealthy in Shape and Execution
LONDON --- Suddenly, we’ve seen what has been regarded as the runt fighter programme go from less than zero to closer to hero. Defence Analysis cannot think of a defence programme presentation(s) for the past two decades, maybe more, that have been so optimistic as to the status of a given programme. Now, there’s some way to go as regards Tempest – the UK name for whatever comes out of GCAP, although it is likely that Italy will be in lock step with the UK, and Japan will take much/most of the resulting work – but, jeez, the pace to date as revealed has been pretty impressive!
There’s a degree of pride in the statement, “we will fly Europe’s first stealthy, supersonic aircraft”.
First take away? The Flying Technology Demonstrator (FTD) for Tempest – its relationship with the final result is the same as the Experimental Aircraft Programme’s relationship with the resulting Typhoon – is design fixed, parts are in production for it, and some have actually been delivered, and so are being “sub-assembled”.
BAE Systems has already carried out ejection tests using a fully representative cockpit/front section of the Flying Technology Demonstrator aircraft, reinforcing the fact that the physical shape of the aircraft has been frozen as a design. (BAE photo)
There’s no question of, “we’re still looking at concepts”. No: the design has been frozen to the extent that the stealth engine intake ducts have been produced; the ejection tests were done using a fully representative cockpit/front section of the FTD aircraft, reinforcing the fact that the physical shape of the aircraft has been frozen as a design.
It is with the FTD aircraft at this stage that the statement that, “we will fly it within four year s” (Emphasis added--Ed.) can be seen, if it wasn’t already, to be very credible if not utterly believable. Now, first flight has slipped from the 2020–21-stated date of 2025 to the “within four years”, which could be “as late” as 2027.
Defence Analysis has to say that the quiet confidence displayed by the Tempest/GCAP team suggests that a fly-by at Farnborough in 2026 cannot be ruled out! Or even one at RIAT in 2025, though that might, just might be pushing it. And this compares with the stated SCAF equivalent of 2029, maybe even 2030.
At the BAES Warton event several hacks said that in talks with Airbus SCAF managers, they were stating that things such as selection and evaluation of hardware had not even started in most areas – SCAF managed to waste at least two years in squabbling.
"Develop military capability while retaining sovereignty"
A key strapline from the event: the Tempest/GCAP programme is meant to provide, “sovereign freedom of action, sovereign freedom of modification, and sovereign freedom of export”. Why would you want all, any of this if the F-35 was/is just so amazing? Defence Analysis put it to the briefing team, MoD/RAF included. Their response, best exemplified by the RAF was telling: “If you build and design your own aircraft, you have freedom of action and sovereignty .... The same is true for Italy and Japan, that is they want to develop military capability while retaining sovereignty”.
From an MoD senior rank, as clear and damning a claim as you can get about the state of play over F-35 ....
Not that Defence Analysis needed the “confirmation”, but this “team agreed mission statement” shows that the UK is checking out of F-35 . But, equally, so are Italy and Japan.
And the common work on Tempest/GCAP is going to start to be a beacon to others interested in F-35: why buy when key partners are leaving? Oh, and a sidebar chat with an MoD official: the next batch of 24 F-35s for the UK is on hold – the funding is needed elsewhere, and Tempest will get some of it.
Eurofighter EJ200 engine tested with stealth intake
The single most important thing to come out from “The Great Reveal” in mid-June? An EJ200 has been extensively tested by Rolls Royce with a stealth intake/duct developed by BAES (using experience from the Mantis UAV programme) in a vast range of flight envelope conditions. To avoid having to work on the EJ200 itself, the aim was to ensure that the airflow to the engine (which is very clean in Typhoon) could be managed with the new indirect duct so that the engine would “believe” that it was still in a Typhoon.
The work succeeded. Designing and testing an S-shaped stealth engine duct is as close to the Holy Grail as you’ll get – this has now been mastered, not just for the FTD, but as there is now a database, as well as the test regime for that, the required knowledge for Tempest itself now exists.
Flight control development is advanced, hardware, such as actuators [Ed: at all times, note that this is for the FTD programme – things can, and will change before Tempest] have been selected; the configuration of the cockpit has been frozen (it will have a wide screen display, natch); the engine layout/duct and all ancillary equipment have been chosen/frozen. And behind this is the fact that the data that the four test rigs are producing are already providing extra data to de-risk Tempest. Is the FTD aircraft Tempest? No. But it has to be said that if you’ve tested System X, Airframe Shape Y, and they meet the specification, why would you then go back to the drawing board to do a total re-design?
So, first flight aside, what to consider next? Discussions are underway with both Italy and Japan about both coming into the FTD programme, in an open architecture manner as the whole GCAP programme is being run. Italy has a flying avionics testbed which will inform Tempest, but there seems to be no reason why a) all three can cooperate on the current UK-only FTD, b) that with three involved, there couldn’t be more than one FTD aircraft – the signs are that the spend on the FTD programme (industrial matters, such as investment in new facilities/equipment aside) has been mid-hundreds of millions, not the $8bn taken for NGAD.
To date, Tempest/FTD has taken less than half the time that was taken with Tornado/Typhoon to get to the stage that it is, a stage where safety clearances have been provided for sub-systems. Famous last words, but BAES/Rolls Royce (and all of their supply chain) have shown that things can be done differently.
One that Defence Analysis spoke to at Warton expressed thanks for the previous FCAS exposure to Saab – it had really shown how proper (that is, not as embodied by the T-7 Red Hawk) adherence to Digital Design and Manufacture cuts the schedule, and thus brings costs down [Ed: Boeing have seemingly thrown many DDM principles out of the window with the T-7 ...].
The next big hope?
That Tempest/FTD doesn’t suffer the way that TSR-2, or the UK’s air-launched nuclear missile programme goes. There are already siren calls for the UK to buy the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, as well as more F-35As, and some Next Generation Air Defence fighters. That all of these come with eye-watering price tags, and that NGAD is still incredibly immature is often rarely considered.
But the fear of your foe does you honour: it is pretty evident that the US DoD/USAF have woken up to the fact that FTD/Tempest is not a paper exercise, but has weight behind it, the weight of three F-35 operators who have decided to spend their money elsewhere.
About the author : Francis Tusa is a defence journalist of over 35 years' experience. Starting at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, he now publishes the Defence Analysis monthly (Inquiries at [email protected])
US Army Shows New, Stealthy Demonstrator Vehicle
WASHINGTON --- Something Soldiers definitely do not want to do in a tactical situation is...
CRS Criticizes US Navy Execution of LCS / Frigate Program
The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) / Frigate program is a program to procure 52...
Rolls-Royce Develops Electrical Technology for Next-Gen Tempest Program
Over the last five years Rolls-Royce has been pioneering world-first technology that will contribute to...
British Industry Details Initial Work on Tempest FCAS Demonstrator
Engineers from the UK’s leading combat air industry partners have released more details about work...
Category : British Aerospace EAP
| ( ) : : : : |
| Instance of | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subclass of | ||||||||||||
| Country of origin | ||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | ||||||||||||
| First flight | ||||||||||||
| Service entry | ||||||||||||
| Service retirement | ||||||||||||
| Powered by | (2) | |||||||||||
| Length | ||||||||||||
| Wingspan | ||||||||||||
SubcategoriesThis category has only the following subcategory.
Media in category "British Aerospace EAP"The following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. 
Navigation menu BAe Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP)Spotlight airplane. Spotlighting lets you share this airplane with all of your followers. This is a great way to help new players get the recognition they deserve for their work. Click the Spotlight button below and all of your followers will receive a notification. Download AirplaneIf you are on Mac, copy this airplane ID to the clipboard and press CMD+L while in the designer in SimplePlanes to download this airplane. If you are on mobile, then try requesting the mobile version of the site. You can learn more about how to do that here . Otherwise, just click the Download for Mobile button below.  I know what you’re thinking - It’s not the typhoon. It’s the BAe Experimental Aircraft Programme! (EAP) Please note the his was largely completed prior to the 1.9 update and I’m having a bit of a simpleplanes catch up! The EAP was the demonstrator fighter concept that spawned the typhoon fighter used by many airforces today. Due to the withdrawal of Italian and German interest early on it was a British/private venture. The aircraft first took to the skies in August 1986 and clocked 259 sorties before being retired in 1991. It currently is on display at RAF Cosford. I’ve tried to match the specs of the aircraft in terms of scale and performance. Thanks in advance for any interest into the build/subject. Specifications
General Characteristics
Performance
 11 Comments
Glad to hear, hopefully it offers you a better work/life balance. I’m assuming you a chemist/clever-clogs/wizard of sorts by profession? @GhostHTX  Hehe. Im now in a different job (Im in the explosives industry now ;-) ) so yes, I have time and a couple of new toys in the works. @Tang0five By Jove good to see you again old chap! I hope works had its pound of flesh out and allowing you more down time? @GhostHTX very cool, my dear fellow! Cheers lads! @Griffinthedragon @MaxB17 Wow that’s quite cool! Yeah awesome programme. May have to dabble with the forerunner of the EAP and do the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme too just to round it up! And thank you for your kind words! @RAF1  Thank you so much for making one of these! My dad was on this programme and he’s always on about how it gets overlooked. Lovely work! Thanks! @HeavyC22 @Treadmill103 @Tonnkatu500 Jolly good, my thanks you to you all! @FranzPeterSiegfried @TheFantasticTyphoon @Evenstsrike333 Thanks guys! @M3e46 @LeonardoEngineering Thank you @edensk that was fast! Get the Reddit appA subreddit spawned from /r/weirdwheels with the same intent, only with planes! This sub is for documenting all those strange planes out there from prototype to production. All aircraft are allowed, including helicopters (despite the sub name). British Aerospace EAP (Experimental Aircraft Programme), precursor of the Eurofighter TyphoonBy continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy . Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator appYou’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account. Enter a 6-digit backup codeCreate your username and password. Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it. Reset your passwordEnter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password Check your inboxAn email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account Choose a Reddit account to continue
NWS All NOAA
FIVE Graphics Archive: Initial Wind Field and Watch/Warning Graphic
 US Dept of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Hurricane Center 11691 SW 17th Street Miami, FL, 33165 [email protected] Central Pacific Hurricane Center 2525 Correa Rd Suite 250 Honolulu, HI 96822 [email protected] Disclaimer Information Quality Help Glossary Privacy Policy Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) About Us Career Opportunities | ||||||||||||
COMMENTS
The Experimental Aircraft Programme, the EAP, was the technology demonstrator which 'gave birth' to the technology behind our Typhoon jet.
The British Aerospace EAP (standing for Experimental Aircraft Programme) is a British technology demonstrator aircraft developed by aviation company British Aerospace (BAe) as a private venture. It was designed to research technologies to be used for a future European combat aircraft, and for the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon .
The Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) demonstrated key technologies for use in the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon. The BAe EAP ZF534 seen in the static display at the 1986 Farnborough Air Show.
The British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) was built as an advanced technology demonstrator. Originally it was to be a tri-national undertaking but both German and Italian Governments pulled out of the project. British Aerospace with help from Italian and German suppliers continued the programme alone.
The aircraft which pioneered the technology behind Typhoon has gone on show to the public for the first time. The Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) technology demonstrator airframe, built by us in the 1980s, has been donated by the company to the RAF Museum in Cosford, Shropshire. It remains the most advanced fighter design ever built ...
The BAE Systems Tempest is a proposed sixth-generation fighter aircraft that is under development in the United Kingdom for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft is intended to enter service from 2035, gradually replacing the Eurofighter Typhoon. It is being developed as part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme by a consortium known as Team Tempest, which includes the Ministry ...
The Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) was a fighter concept from MBB, BAe and Aeritalia, displayed as mock-up in 1982-1983. It featured canted twin-tails and cranked delta. It is likely that the tail configuration would have offered a lower frontal radar cross section than the single fin adopted by Typhoon.
The British Aerospace EAP was an experimental aeroplane designed to address a variety of aeronautical concepts planned to be implemented in a new generation of European advanced fighters. Despite the rather bland name, the Experimental Aircraft Program had a rather glitzy developmental path, appearing in many top European airshows.
BAE Systems Demon. The Demon is an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed and manufactured by British defence conglomerate BAE Systems. It has been referred to as being the world's first "flapless" aircraft. [2] The Demon was developed as a demonstrator for the flapless air vehicle integrated industrial research (FLAVIIR) programme.
The Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) was the technology demonstrator which 'gave birth' to the Eurofighter Typhoon (BAE Systems) It was as a domestic supplier to a critical and informed RAF that the British aircraft industry could still, by the mid-1980s, be the second largest in the West.
BAE Systems: "The Experimental Aircraft Programme, the EAP, was the technology demonstrator which 'gave birth' to the technology behind our Typhoon jet. Built by ourselves in the 1980s, it was ...
The UK is making strong early progress with its sixth-generation flying technology demonstrator programme, with its industry partners having already performed tests on key engine, crew escape and ...
The Flying Technology Demonstrator (FTD) for Tempest - its relationship with the final result is the same as the Experimental Aircraft Programme's relationship with the resulting Typhoon - is design fixed, parts are in production for it, and some have actually been delivered, and so are being "sub-assembled". BAE Systems has already ...
But it was the vision and skills of Warton's design teams, engineers and test pilots which led to some of its greatest successes - best exemplified perhaps by the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) which led to the Typhoon and latterly by the Unmanned Air Vehicle Programmes of today which, ironically, still depend on the skilled input of ...
Category. : British Aerospace EAP. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Experimental Aircraft Programme ( experimental aircraft) manufacturer: British Aerospace. country of origin: United Kingdom. first flight: 8 August 1986. powered by: Turbo-Union RB199.
The BAE Systems Taranis is a British demonstrator programme for unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) technology, under development primarily by the defence contractor BAE Systems Military Air & Information. The aircraft, which is named after the Celtic god of thunder Taranis, first flew in 2013. [ 1][ 2] An unmanned warplane, the Taranis is designed to fly intercontinental missions, and would ...
BAe Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) Spotlighting lets you share this airplane with all of your followers. This is a great way to help new players get the recognition they deserve for their work. Click the Spotlight button below and all of your followers will receive a notification. If you are on Mac, copy this airplane ID to the clipboard ...
BAe wanted to actively reduce the cross section of the intakes, but I think the Italians were not that fussed. (Shared rescue boat duties with a senior engineering manager at BAe for a few boat races).
BAE Systems completes testing, ... The Bristol Type 188 was an experimental twin engine aircraft designed and built by Bristol Aeroplane Company for sustained flight in excess of twice the ... The whole of the flying programme for the second aircraft was conducted from Filton. In all, 70 tests flights were carried out, the fastest being to ...
FIVE Graphics Archive: Initial Wind Field and Watch/Warning Graphic
British Aerospace plc ( BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. [1] It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems .
The US military hails its experimental QUICKSINK weapon as a low-cost way to defeat surface vessels, but it could leave launch aircraft vulnerable.
2035. Developed from. BAE Systems Tempest, Mitsubishi F-X. Predecessors. Eurofighter Typhoon, Mitsubishi F-2. The Global Combat Air Programme ( GCAP) is a multinational initiative led by the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy to jointly develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter. The programme aims to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in service ...
In December 1976, DARPA and the U.S. Air Force initiated the Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft-Experimental (BSAX) program, which was part of a larger Air Force program called Pave Mover. The BSAX program's goal was to develop an efficient stealth reconnaissance aircraft with a low probability of intercept radar and other sensors that could ...