Generation Tempest

In the 1960s, a team of engineers from across Europe got together to design an aircraft which could take people at twice the speed of sound. What they created went on to become a symbol of engineering excellence which is still today one of the most loved aircraft ever built - Concorde.

 

Now, a new team of engineers is being called upon to lead the latest revolution and work on creating the technologies which will take the Royal Air Force into the next generation.

 

Team Tempest is the name given to a group of British companies - BAE Systems, Leonardo, Rolls-Royce and MBDA – who are working in partnership with the RAF to develop the technologies we believe will be necessary to lead the development of a Future Combat Air System, which could be used by the RAF potentially until 2080.

 

But, if the nation is going to be able to deliver another engineering feat to rival Concorde, we need thousands of bright minds ready to become the engineers, manufacturers and operators - we're looking for Generation Tempest.

 

Today, there are people within the companies which make up Team Tempest who are already working on the early stage of the technologies which may end up in the hands of the RAF pilots of the future.

 

They’re working on technologies like futuristic wearable cockpits, which use gaming technology to beam the controls a pilot needs to fly the aircraft through their helmet. They can then work these controls with the blink of an eye using eye-tracking technology or call up virtual displays by just moving their hands using augmented reality.

 

This technology already exists today and is part of what will become the future of the RAF and it is only going to get smarter. We also need people who are going to be able to build the aircraft which the RAF will fly for the next 60 years.

 

That means people working in a factory of the future where they could be propelled up and down a production line in an exoskeleton which allows them to move faster, lift more, and control machinery around them by just a nod of the head of the blink of an eye.

 

This is called ‘cobotics’ and it is all about people and robots working together to build an aircraft which has not even been designed yet. And, if that sounds like science fiction to you, think again. You can find exactly this technology at work today building parts of the aircraft including Typhoon and F-35, and in the research labs where the technologies of tomorrow are being created today.

 

There is so much which has already happened towards delivering the vision of Team Tempest, but there’s way more still to come.

 

So, if you're part of an Air Cadets group, a school party or maybe just visiting the Air Tattoo to watch the amazing displays by aircraft like Typhoon, you could be part of creating the aircraft which will be the star attraction at an air show decades from now.

 

We're looking for you to join us in our mission and become part of Generation Tempest.