The UK and Japan have today signed a Letter of Arrangement to jointly conduct cooperative research on a world-leading fighter jet sensor.
According to a press release from the UK Government:
- Partners will acquire cutting-edge sensor technology to detect lethal threats
- 75 UK jobs to be created, including 40 engineering jobs in Scotland
- Part of UK’s Combat Air Strategy, backed by £2 billion of funding during the next four years
The universal radio frequency sensor technology, known as ‘JAGUAR’, could enable the Armed Forces to “better detect future threats from air, land and sea, quickly and accurately locating targets and denying surveillance technology operated by our adversaries”, say the Ministry of Defence.
Work on the project is scheduled to start in April and JAGUAR is expected to create 75 jobs across the UK, including 40 highly skilled engineering jobs at Leonardo’s Edinburgh site.
Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin was quoted as saying:
“We are proud to work ever closer with our partners in Japan to ensure both our Armed Forces remain at the forefront of military innovation. This crucial relationship will see us acquire truly advanced technology to protect our nations for decades to come whilst creating significant investment and highly-skilled jobs in the UK and Japan.”
Designing, building and evaluating the JAGUAR system will take around five years, involving input from Leonardo UK and Japanese industry. Two demonstrators will be built within the project, one in each country, with the work and learning shared to maximise national expertise.
Chair and CEO Leonardo UK Norman Bone said in the aforementioned news release:
“As the UK’s combat air electronics champion and a founding member of Tempest, we’re keen to work with our international allies where their industry has similarly advanced capabilities, bringing together the best of both partners. Japan has a strong and growing combat air industry which is a natural fit for Leonardo. Under JAGUAR, our highly-skilled scientists and engineers based across the UK will work with their Japanese counterparts to advance technology that will benefit both of our nation’s future combat air endeavours.”
This cooperative research comes after the UK and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in December last year, enabling both nations to pursue joint technologies. In December, the two countries also announced an intention to develop a future fighter jet engine demonstrator as part of their partnership.
The factory formerly known as Ferranti, good stuff.
The company that invented the Ferranti Reset, “Turn it off, Turn it on” decades before Microsoft!
Interesting, and good to see yet another combined project with the Japanese. here is the other one I know about:
Three so far – all FCAS related – JNAAM, new Engine for Tempest / F-X and this new type of RF sensor. Creeping slowly towards Japan as partner in Tempest??
Off topic, here’s a hot off the press story from janes:
Probably done to give the boys in Hereford, first dibs on access to any future need for such a capability.
It Shame America didn’t have the same attitude when we shared our information on the Miles M.52
Thinking ahead towards Merlin / Chinook / Wildcat replacements in the 2030s.
First we need to think about the Puma replacement.
Personally would like to see Blackhawks replace both Puma and RM Merlins. The Merlins could then be reconfigured to increase our ASW force. Need more as T45 and T31 are lacking in thst area. Too logical for MOD I suspect.
I think the RM Merlins service very well for amphibious over water operations. There size is an advantage when you are looking at rotor based ship to shore logistics and having three engines in the maritime setting is very advantageous. The other biggie is that I don’t think Blackhawk has a flotation device ( After one sank and drowned its crew there was a finding that it should have but the US department of defence saved money ove lives).
The AW149 has significant advantages over Blackhawk:
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/a-lynx-in-pumas-clothing/
Don’t get me started on the 149, I think it’s a brilliant medium rotor and a no brainier for the U.K. it could re-invigorate rotor production in a global Britain. With a likely order book not seen in 60 years.
Good news, another piece potentially of Tempest going forward. I do have a question that I hope someone could answer. With this being joint developed by Leonardo UK what procedures are in place that this development does not find its way into other nations projects that Leonardo are undertaking? Also does the UK?Japanese government get any returns on the investment?
Morning all, excellent news, so far BAE Systems have been quietly beavering away on detailed design, advanced automated construction techniques etc With the engines and sensors being co- developed with Japan, we really are seeing great progress in all the key enabling areas. Add to this, the co development of missile technology with Japan and we have a potentially world beating partnership, along with Sweden and Italy of course. Meanwhile, the Franco German project bogs down in typical European squabbling and virtually grinds to a halt…. I expect Spain to jump ship and join Tempest this year, either that or… Read more »
Spain is in deep with Airbus, don’t expect them to move at all.
Would the tempest members want any more participating countries?
They say what theyve learned from Eurofighter, F-35 and other transnational military projects isnt so much that co-development is a bad idea but that you should have the ability to build the majority of the aircraft yourself rather than relying on a multinational supply chain. While in theory having all the wings built in one country, fuselages in another, tail in a third etc… offers economy of scale there are other hidden diplomatic and industrial costs that offset it.
If anybody was to leave the Franco-German Spanish the 6th gen project, it would be Germany.
Nothing like the lure of Golf and Whisky to seal the deal with the Japanese …..great news
Very reminiscent of the collaboration around the turn of the last century between the two Countries. There is a lots of natural synergies on all sorts of levels between our two Countries for all the outward differences that both feel comfortable with I think and on the military front an obvious relative equality that is only enhanced by the different skillsets brought to bear that will enhance the abilities of both.
Interestingly when you get down to cultural bedrocks the Japanese and British are a lot closer than you would think. Both suffer some of the same habitus of large island nations: 1) extreme politeness as a function of managing the societal stress of living on a crowded island. 2) A propensity for violence managed by cultural rules around appropriateness and behaviour. 3) The need to create barriers to open interactions and communication, again related to overcrowding stressors ( the British ceremony of discussing the weather as a means of greeting and communication etc ). The anthropology of the two nations… Read more »
We also bizarrely share some key cultural similarities from being island nations close to great continental powers. They had a “divine wind” that destroyed the Mongol fleet, our own existential crisis was averted when “God blew and they were scattered” leaving the Armada and Catholic inquisition in a shambles. These events are deep in the cultural psyche of an island fortress mentality and exceptionalism from our closest genetic relatives on the mainland.
Yes I’ve always found it fascinating how two very divergent cultures A planet apart with no cultural links at all until recent history have some very significant similarities, that could only be from similarities in geography and geopolitical forces.
Engine, then sensor….why not just do the whole confounded plane together ???
Tempest and future Japanese advanced aircraft are going to end up very similar. Might even look the same. But it all boils down to politics. Been discussed on here before. Danger of going “all in” as a joint venture with Italy, UK and Japan will be US involvement. They will want sight and access to everything developed. Leonardo need to ensure also China doesnt steal technical designs as they have done to Naval Groups Barracuda/ Suffren class subs, wouldnt want a Chinese clone coming along whilst we have paid entirety of R+D budget.
Can’t believe western weapon tech companies still getting caught with their knickers down by Chinese hackers.
Time to get their design networks off the wider internet. What you lose in convenience you gain in security.
Shaping up to be a world leader, good news and long may it continue!
I wonder what tech can be passed on to the Typhoons?
UK RAF should have purchased the Japanese Kawaski developed and built P1 maritime patrol aircraft instead of the Boeing 737-800 based P8. The UK might then have pushed (BAE and Airbus) the P1 as the European wide MPA alternative to the P8. Note Japan is already committed to about 30 of the P1s which are more modern and better performing MPAs than the airliner based Boeing offering. The P1 could also have become the platform for a UK AWACS platform using either the Australian developed E7 radars or Jo’s own kit from the Monroe dabacle. Buying the P1 would have… Read more »
I am a big fan of the P1. More follows on from nimrod way of working. Low attitude, 4 engines etc etc.
Can anyone explain in a bit of detail how this sensor works and is it a new way of doing things. Have previous aircraft used this?
Not really any details on Jaguar, but what they had previously talked about doing on the Tempest was having small radar receivers positioned at various points around the aircraft (Theyve had a breakthrough in miniaturization) working in conjunction with an incremental update to the ECRS Mk2 radar that the British/Italian Typhoons are about to get as a primary receive/transmit antenna. They claim it will process 10,000 times more data than existing aircraft radars and outrange their opponents detection capability. The universal aspect comes from the AESA radar being simultaneously capable of four modes in one rather than relying on seperate… Read more »
I also thought the UK should have gone for the P1. I am not convinced the B737 is up to the low-level work. Its OK for the Yanks, they will just order more airframes.
Also P1s with the air-launched variant of the Type 17 anti-ship missile would be very useful capability to have, especially when the missile’s range is increased to 1,500+ km as is being proposed. This would enable us to attack carrier groups from beyond the range of carrier aircraft flying CAP.
The missile also has ground attack capability and could be fired from beyond the range of S-400 and S-500.
Lastly it’s stealthy and can perform evasive manoeuvres. The ship-launched version would be ideal for our Type 45s and/or their replacements.
Scotland wins again
Haha. Can’t help that the Leonardo office is Edinburgh. The offices have long history in the capital of Scotland. Did many say England wins again when rolls royce had the engine deal🙈
I’m sure that there could be a few non brogue accents mingled in with this contract and their just have too get used to Stovie’s neaps and tatties and Irn brew
The cornerstone of any Scottish diet
I’m sure a thick Edinburgh accent and Japanese will get along just fine. A lot of what, eh’, aye getting said. Bring the whisky and it will all go fine.
Every weds when I was Drafted to Rosyth no getting away from those staples
I think Leonardo at Luton will be involved too (electronic warfare).
Will it be in house or pack your bags your heading north I wonder ,doesn’t Leonardo have works over in Taunton as well ?
Don’t know. Helicopters are Yeovil, which is just a cider spit or two away.
You promised us the build of 13 sensors!, now its 5 lol…😂
Excellent news. Great to see the developing industrial cooperation between us and the Japanese, and gives real hope that Tempest could genuinely happen.
Offtopic, but at 11:03 this morning in Wigan I felt this offshore supersonic boom (Felt, not heard! was like a wave of energy washing over me with no noise whatsoever). Wonder what the hell BAE were testing (This was reported by BAE as a joint RAF/BAE development flight on the offshore weapons range and the BAE Typhoon went supersonic about 10 miles off Southport). The public tracking had the aircraft only hitting 630 knots, and based on the range this boom was heard Im wondering if it was actually a weapons test. Typhoon fighter jet’s sonic boom heard across North… Read more »
Speed of sound can differ between Air temperature and air moisture But if BAE were involved we may never know Whatcher
This is good, Japan is just the sort of ally we need. Well balanced in that we are very much peer nations, both with a real need to follow the rules as written.
We are to far way for a lot of meaningful trade of bulk goods but a great opportunity for trading and sharing knowledge.
One wonders how far the UK could go it alone on tempest using other countries to jointly develop engines sensors etc. is the cost of sticking them all in a fuselage that great. Japan and maybe Saudi are about the only nations with the scale and cash that we could consider joint development with outside of NATO.
In past, a prototype radar with RF sensor had been developped, the radar had much different hardware from conventional AESA radar. The function of ESM has similarity to JAGUAR on description.
(Mogami class frigate uses a bit similar sensor system already.)
The joint study program is begining since years ago, this sensor development is the more next step.
Too little too late, war is already at the door.