Plans for UK’s next generation supersonic fighter jet equipped with ‘direct energy weapons’ under threat
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.
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.
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.