http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 9Chinooks to
remain in Mali
The RAF is extending its
Chinook HC5 deployment
in Mali for at least another
six months. Three of
the helicopters and
almost 100 personnel
are currently stationed
with the French counter-
terrorism mission in the
north of the country, where
they have been operating
since July last year.
Marshall prepares
for Wedgetail work
Marshall Aerospace
and Defence Group
has signed a contract
with Boeing to begin
preparatory work for the
E-7 AEW&C programme.
The risk-reduction
contract is the first
stage in the company’s
modification work that
will begin in 2021 and
provide the RAF with
five Wedgetail aircraft.
Aeralis and Thales
sign Tempest
training MOU
UK start-up Aeralis and
Thales have agreed
to develop a bespoke
training system for the
RAF’s Tempest future
fighter. The memorandum
of understanding
(MOU) between the
two companies will see
them develop concepts
for a ground-based
training and simulation
system to complement
the new warplane.In Brief
ANALYSIS
THE RAF Air and Space
Power Conference held in
London in July saw senior
officials outline an ambitious
series of programmes for the
service. During the event,
the then Defence Secretary
Penny Mordaunt provided
details of the Ministry of
Defence’s (MOD’s) space
programme, including £30m
to fast-track the launch of a
small satellite demonstrator,
under Team Artemis, which
involves US and UK defence
personnel. Other space-
related initiatives include
the UK joining Operation
Olympic Defender – a
US-led international space
defence coalition – and
seconding an RAF test
pilot to Virgin Orbit’s ‘small
satellite’ programme.
Reflecting the shift
towards the space domain,
the existing Joint Forces
Command – which
co-ordinates activity across
the British Armed Forces- will be transformed
into Strategic Command,
responsible for air, land, sea,
cyber and space activities.
The new command will
be tailored to counter
so-called “grey zone”
threats, operating between
the different domains. As a
priority, the new body will
oversee the armed forces’
digital information network.
Under Team Artemis, a
demonstrator is planned
to be launched within a
year. A small, low-orbiting
satellite, it is intended to be
cost-effective and quickly
replaceable. Eventually it
may be able to transmit
high-resolution video
to the cockpits of RAF
fighters in real time.
As the first international
partner in Olympic Defender,
the UK aims to “strengthen
deterrence against hostile
actors in space and reduce
the spread of debris in orbit”.
Specific threats highlighted
by the MOD include China’s
hit-to-kill interceptor missiles
and Russian anti-satellite
missile systems. The UK
will add eight personnel
to the Olympic Defender
coalition over the next 18
months at the Combined
Space Operations Center
(CSpOC) in California.
The RAF’s involvement in
the Virgin Orbit programme
will provide access to a
research effort in which
small satellites are launched
into space from under the
wing of a Boeing 747. A
first drop test of a rocket
was recently conducted
at 35,000ft (10,668m) to
evaluate the separation of
the rocket and aircraft.
AVM Simon Rochelle, chief
of staff capability, revealed
details of the RAF’s plans
for hypersonic technologies,announcing a feasibility
study to examine developing
an indigenous hypersonic
weapon within four years, as
well as a £10m investment
in hypersonic propulsion
test work with the UK-based
Reaction Engines. The
RAF’s Rapid Capabilities
Office (RCO) is eyeing an
“affordable” Mach-5-capable
air-launched weapon that
could be fielded by 2023.
The two-year development
and test programme with
Reaction Engines will look
at how technology from the
firm’s Sabre air-breathing
hypersonic engine could be
adapted for military use.
Meanwhile, the Defence,
Science and Technology
Lab (Dstl) is also seeking
to improve the surveillance
capability of UK satellites
and identify potentially
hostile actors in space, with
a £2m competition to fast-
track new technologies.
The Dstl has also invested
over £1.5m in space
facilities at Portsdown
West, Hampshire, with the
installation of a new satellite
ground control station
to support future MOD
space research activities.
Conventional air power
is also set to receive
a boost after the RCOannounced the award of
three contracts to develop
the Mosquito technology
demonstrator, which will
explore the addition of
unmanned capabilities
onto fast jets – including
the future Tempest fighter.
The contracts fall under
the Lightweight Affordable
Novel Combat Aircraft
(LANCA) programme and
have gone to three teams
led by Blue Bear Systems
Research, Boeing Defence
UK, and Callen-Lenz (Team
BLACKDAWN partnered
with Bombardier Belfast and
Northrop Grumman UK).
The RAF plans for LANCA
to be deployed alongside
manned fighter jets such
as the F-35 and Typhoon
and believes it “could even
provide an unmanned
combat air ‘fleet’ in the
future”. After the 12-month
Phase 1, Phase 2 will select
up to two of the Phase 1
solutions to further mature
the designs and complete
manufacturing of the
technology demonstrator,
including a limited flight-
test programme.
In other Team Tempest
news, the RAF has awarded
a contract to Leonardo
to provide a large-body
test aircraft as part of the
initiative. The demonstrator,
based on a modified Boeing
757, will be used to conduct
airborne testing of sensors
and system integration
from the early 2020s.RAF looks to a future of space
and hypersonics
Above: An artist’s impression of the Reaction Engines Sabre air-breathing hypersonic engine. The RAF is now looking at how to
incorporate this technology in existing supersonic engines as well as in potential future platforms under consideration by Team
Tempest. Reaction EnginesFuture RAF squadrons announced
No 8 Squadron E-7 Wedgetail AEW&C
No 23 Squadron space command and control
No 216 Squadron experimental UAV ‘swarming’ technologySubscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com for breaking news
stories. Email the news team at [email protected]08-09 UKNews AFM Sep2019.indd 9 8/5/2019 10:43:34 AM