Global race for sixth‑gen fighters heats up as GCAP demonstrator to fly by 2027

BAE Systems has offered the clearest glimpse yet of the combat air flying demonstrator, the aircraft that will spearhead development of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and ultimately the sixth‑generation Tempest fighter. A newly released image shows the fuselage under construction at Samlesbury, while wings and fins are being assembled at Warton, from where the demonstrator is expected to fly before the end of 2027. This marks the UK’s first fighter demonstrator since the British Aerospace EAP of 1986, which laid the groundwork for the Eurofighter Typhoon.The demonstrator is not intended as an operational weapon system but as a testbed to validate technologies, manufacturing methods and aerodynamic concepts. It will inform the Tempest fighter being jointly developed by the UK, Italy and Japan, with Canada recently joining the project as an observer.