BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) and Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) missed out on the strong FTSE 100 rebound Monday as concerns were raised about the future of the upgraded Typhoon fighter, Tempest.
Doubts are not over its seemingly impressive capabilities, but whether with a development schedule of years and Russia’s aggression rising, something quicker might be needed.
Sky News last week quoted armed forces minister Luke Pollard saying that while the project was “really important”, he would not prejudice the outcome of a strategic defence review currently underway.
PM Keir Starmer subsequently reiterated that message stating that while important there was no guarantee Tempest would go ahead.
Starmer said: “It is a programme on which we are making significant progress in my view and the Defence Secretary is holding a ministerial-level meeting I think next week in relation to this because of the significant benefits here in this country.
“That is my attitude to it. There is of course a review going on but it is important for me to put on record just how important a programme this is.”
Known as the Global Combat Air Programme, Tempest is part of a three-nation collaboration between the UK with BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s Mitsubishi Industries.
If given the green light, the new plane would be in service by 2035, though one of the experts quoted by Sky suggested that might be too late.
Professor Justin Bronk, an acknowledged Royal Air Force expert, questioned whether the UK needed long-term projects such as GCAP when "a direct war with Russia could erupt by 2028".
"We need to turn things around in Ukraine but also we have to get our own defences in order in the next two to three years," Bronk told the Chief of the Air Staff's Air and Space Chiefs' Conference.
Tempest will be able to fly in stealth at supersonic speeds and is seen as a replacement for the RAF’s current workhorse, the Typhoon, which is powered by engines from the Eurojet consortium, comprising Rolls-Royce, MTU, Avio and ITP.
Shares in BAE were up 0.3% at 1,273p with Rolls down a touch at 444p.