{"id":27410,"date":"2019-07-07T15:23:11","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T15:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/07\/sweden-to-join-british-tempest-next-gen-fighter-push\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:13:00","slug":"sweden-to-join-british-tempest-next-gen-fighter-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2019\/07\/07\/sweden-to-join-british-tempest-next-gen-fighter-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden to join British \u2018Tempest\u2019 next-gen fighter push"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2013 Sweden is set to become the first international partner to join the British \u201cTempest\u201d sixth-generation fighter program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An announcement involving the governments and industries of the two nations is expected to be made at the three-day Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) event, which begins July 19 at RAF Fairford, according to industry executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British government took the wraps off the Tempest program at the Farnborough Air Show last year. The project is the main attraction in a new combat air strategy stitched together largely to enable the British defense aerospace industry to maintain its technological edge in developing jet fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conservative government pledged \u00a32 billion, or $2.5 billion, to fund the early stages of the program, which is being led on the industry side by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, missile maker MBDA and the UK arm of Leonardo, a key supplier of systems like the radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But government officials have always made it clear that the Tempest program was affordable only with the involvement of foreign partners bringing money, technology and markets to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\t