Leonardo has acquired a second aircraft (tail number G-POWH 3) for conversion into the Excalibur FTA (new tail number is G-FTAI). (Leonardo)

Leonardo has acquired a second 757 airframe for its Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft (FTA) project to de-risk the Tempest future fighter that the United Kingdom is developing for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Italy and Japan.

The sensor lead for the Team Tempest industrial group announced the development at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford, England, on 14 July. The company said the acquisition of the airframe is part of a GBP115 million (USD150 million) contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to launch the second phase of the Excalibur FTA project, which will support development of the Tempest that will sit at the heart of the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), as well as support capability enhancements for the country’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning platforms.