Excalibur testbed flies with Tempest modifications
An artist's impression of the Excalibur FTA fitted with all the fairings and apertures, including a fighter-type radome, needed for its role in de-risking the sensor and communication suites of the Tempest demonstrator aircraft for the UK. (Leonardo UK)
The Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft (FTA) has been seen for the first time flying with all the fairings and apertures fitted for the sensor and communication suites of the UK's Tempest future fighter demonstrator.
Unofficial images posted online in mid-February showed the modified Boeing 757 operating out of Ministry of Defence (MoD) Boscombe Down in southern England fitted with an array of new ‘lumps and bumps', including for the first time a fighter-type nose radome.
Leonardo UK, which is the prime contractor for the Excalibur FTA in its role within Team Tempest, has not said if the aircraft is now fitted with the Integrated Sensing Non-Kinetic Effects (ISANKE) and Integrated Communications Systems (ICS) suites it is developing for the Tempest demonstrator aircraft that will inform the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) that the United Kingdom is undertaking in partnership with Italy and Japan.
The company had not released official imagery of the newly configured aircraft at the time of publication, having previously revealed only an artist's impression of it in flight.
The Excalibur FTA was showcased to Janes
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