FIA 2026: BAE unveils Brontanax for British and international CCA requirements
Flight trials of the new system are planned for the second half of 2027. (Photo: author)
Designed for the UK Royal Air Force’s StormFighter requirement, the carrier-capable platform could also support Royal Navy operations and international customers within the estimated $77.08 billion air force CCA market.
On Wednesday morning at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, BAE Systems unveiled Brontanax, the UK’s first fully sovereign collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), which is scheduled to fly in 2027. The drone is BAE’s answer to the UK’s StormFighter CCA requirement, with its name – which in Ancient Greek means “thunder” – exemplifying the link.
The aggressive flight timeline underscores the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) determination to become “Europe’s first 6th Generation Air Force”, an ambition highlighted by Air Staff Air Marshal Sir Harv Smyth at the drone’s unveiling. To achieve this would require a sixth-generation formation to be fielded before 2030.
Speaking to journalists following the
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