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Renamed aircraft project reflects joint RN/RAF role
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| 7 June 2001 |
RICHARD SCOTT JDW Naval Editor
London
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has renamed its Future Carrier Borne Aircraft (FCBA) programme as the Future Joint Combat Aircraft (FJCA) to better reflect its status as a common Royal Navy/Royal Air Force (RN/RAF) aircraft capable of both sea- and land-based operations.
In an associated move, the Defence Procurement Agency integrated project team (IPT) managing the programme has been re-christened the Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) IPT. A variant of the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is set to fulfil the FJCA requirement.
Due to enter service from 2012, the FCBA was originally conceived as a carrier-based replacement for the RN's Sea Harrier FA.2s. However, with RN Sea Harriers and RAF Harrier GR.7s now under a single joint command, and plans formulated for a common replacement aircraft, the FCBA appellation is now seen to represent legacy thinking.
"The term FCBA is obsolete for two reasons," said RAF Wing Cdr Mark Green, JCA IPT requirements manager. "First, the aircraft is no longer a dedicated carrier-borne aircraft, and second, it is no longer a purely naval programme. FJCA reflects the shift to a joint RN/RAF offensive aircraft able to deploy from bases at sea and ashore."
In January the UK signed a memorandum of understanding with the US government to participate in the JSF engineering and manufacturing development phase, effectively selecting JSF as the preferred solution to meet the then FCBA requirement (USA and UK to cement links on next JSF stage). Current planning assumptions are for the procurement of up to 150 aircraft at a total cost of some £7 billion ($9.94 billion).
A decision on whether the UK will opt for the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, hitherto the UK's planning assumption, or the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) carrier variant is pending. Opinion within the MoD remains split.
"The decision to be made between the STOVL and CTOL variants will be a difficult one," said Wing Cdr Green. "They are being viewed as equal competitors. Our final decision will be informed by the results of the current concept demonstration phase, study work to examine the UK's future offensive air capability, and a range of 'softer' issues such as our concept of operations."
A selection is required by September 2002 to inform the design and operating characteristics of the Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF).
In the meantime, the rival BAE Systems and Thales teams conducting CVF assessment studies are pursuing a twin-track policy, concentrating on generic carrier designs and looking at areas where commonality can be maximised below the flight deck and hangar deck irrespective of the FJCA selection.