DSEI 2025: GCAP Electronics Evolution emerges as new consortium for 6th-gen programme

The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has taken another step forwards in its journey towards fielding a sixth-generation combat aircraft and associated systems with its new electronics consortium, unveiled at DSEI.

Named GCAP Electronics Evolution (G2E), the consortium aims to work together to deliver an advanced sensing and communication system for the sixth-gen Tempest fighter – known as Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects & Integrated Communications Systems (ISANKE & ICS).

All four companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March 2023. Now, according to the group, G2E is working on accepting a contract from the industry joint venture, Edgewing – the latter as the lead systems integrators for the GCAP aircraft.

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The consortium, according to the companies, will ready the industry partners to start the design and development phase on the sensing and communication components of GCAP. The workshare between all three companies would be “broadly equal” according to the consortium officials.

Andrew Howard, director of Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS) at Leonardo UK, confirmed that the team was working on submitting a formal proposal to Edgewing as its first customer.

“This is the beginning of the next chapter,” said Howard. “The next step is to accept the first international contract. 

“When we receive that first international contract that will move us as a profoundly integrated community of companies to deliver the solution that the GCAP programme demands.”

In August, BAE Systems released images of its testbed aircraft, used to derisk the fighter, ahead of the design and development phase. Three separate testbed aircraft will be used for the Tempest Flight Test Aircraft (FTA) programme to test the related sensor suites and communication systems.

The first, a modified Boeing 757 aircraft, is led by the UK’s 2Excel Aviation, with the testbed completing the first phase of modification and flight testing in late 2024.

The exact model of testbed aircraft that would be used by Italy and Japan was not disclosed by the consortium. However, it was disclosed that while the selection of an aircraft was still being discussed by Japan’s Ministry of Defence, it could be a C-2, while Italy would be likely to settle on a Gulfstream V as its testbed airframe.

Shephard’s DSEI 2025 coverage is sponsored by:

Related Programmes in Defence Insight

Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

Global Combat Air Programme [Italy]

Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]