Tempest fighter is ‘expensive but vital’ to UK defense – BAE boss | Business News

The chief executive of BAE Systems told Sky News that while the program to build the UK’s planned sixth-generation fighter jet is expensive, it will be vital to the country’s future defense needs and the creation of tens of thousands of qualified jobs.

Charles Woodburn was speaking on the first day of the Farnborough Air Show amid speculation that the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), nicknamed Tempest in the UK, may be at risk in the next Strategic Defense Review.

He said: “GCAP is a hugely important program for the UK in military air capability. There are over 50,000 jobs, very high quality jobs across the UK in the military air sector. GCAP is the future.

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“We know that programs like GCAP are expensive programs, and that’s why working in partnership with like-minded allies like Japan and Italy is so important, because then you can share costs and share capabilities across multiple allies. with similar ideas.

“And we have a really strong partnership, which is really driving this program forward.”

Storm it was first introduced in 2018 as a successor to the Typhoon and previous generations of fighter jets such as the Tornado.

GCAP has subsequently become an important element of UK diplomatic policy as well as UK production, as several international defense contractors, including Leonardo, the Italian parent company of helicopter manufacturer Agusta Westland, and the Saab, Sweden’s main defense contractor, joined the Tempest team.

Two years ago, Japan agreed to merge its own sixth-generation fighter jet program, the Mitsubishi FX, with the Tempest, bringing on board Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as prime contractor.

And the diplomatic importance of GCAP was underlined when, in December last year, Rishi Sunak’s government formally signed an agreement international treaty with Italy and Japan confirming that the project would be based in the UK.

Minoru Kihara, the Japanese Defense Minister, was due to participate this week in a trilateral ministerial meeting with John Healey, the new Secretary of State for Defense, and his Italian counterpart.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, later made reference to this meeting when, during his visit to Farnborough, he was asked about GCAP.

He told reporters: “It’s important for me to put on record how important this program is… I know the people in the room will want to hear me say that.

“The Secretary of Defense is holding a ministerial-level meeting… regarding this because of the significant benefits here in this country.”

Mr Woodburn was speaking as GCAP’s three main partners unveiled the latest concept model of the aircraft, which features a much more evolved design with a larger wingspan than previous concepts – aiming to improve the aircraft’s aerodynamics.

He added: “There are a large number of differences in the wing design and profile of the aircraft. Obviously, we’ve been working together with our partners on this program for the last 18 months, and it has evolved. some of these evolutions in design.

“So it’s a really important day for us to unveil this here in Farnborough. There’s a lot to see on our stand here. And obviously with the new government here, we’ve got cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister coming to the show today, and a lot that to talk.”

Woodburn also addressed concerns in Australia that BAE, the UK’s largest defense contractor, is placing a higher priority on completing submarines for the Royal Navy under the Astute and Dreadnought programs than on helping to build nuclear-powered submarines. for the Royal Australian Navy under the Aukus Security Pact between the US, the UK and Australia.

He said: “Aukus is a huge priority for us as a company, as a country and as a company. It is the next generation attack submarine that we will develop with Australia and the US and, from the UK’s perspective, which will succeed the boats Cunning.

“One thing they [the US, the UK and Australia] all we need is more nuclear-powered hunter killers or attack submarines.

“So it’s a big priority for the UK. As a direct result, it’s getting a lot of attention, which bodes well for the overall program for both the UK and Australia.”

Woodburn insisted that US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from this year’s presidential election would have little impact on BAE, whose North American arm is one of the Pentagon’s biggest contractors.

He added: “We have always enjoyed broad bipartisan support for defense in the US. And we hope that continues. We as a company will obviously work for whoever the democratically elected government of the day is. So I don’t see this having a significant impact about us as a company.”

Sir Keir was in Farnborough to launch a new body, Skills England, which the government hopes will address the UK’s skills shortage.

BAE, which has doubled the number of apprentices and graduates it takes on over the last three years, is a key player in this.

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Woodburn said: “We now have over 5,500 graduates and apprentices training in the UK and our intake this year will be 2,700…across all areas [of the company].

“Unfortunately, due to the increased threat environment the world is seeing now, demand for our products and services is increasing – and we need to be ready to support that.

“We are a long cycle business. We have long-term programs and excellent early career programs.

“Our apprentices, for example, come in, learn a trade, learn a skill and can expect a lifetime of high-quality employment with us, obviously as long as they perform.

“Our apprenticeship programs tend to be oversubscribed – and one of my plans is to try to ensure we scale this up as much as we can, because given the long-term nature of our business, it’s up to us to train our workforce for the future.”