2Excel and Leonardo Partner for Excalibur Modification

2Excel and Leonardo are partnering on the Tempest flight test aircraft programme, in which the partners will overhaul a commercial airliner – set to be named ‘Excalibur’ – turning it into a flying laboratory for air combat technology testing.

The aircraft is being modified to supplement the transformational ‘digital-first’ approach the Team Tempest partners are taking with regard to the testing and evaluation of Tempest’s next-generation electronics. Phase 2 of the project will see 2Excel design and build the flight test bed based on a Boeing 757 airliner.

Unveiled at DSEI, Excalibur will allow scientists and engineers to test state-of-the-art technology, including sensors and communications equipment for the Future Combat Air System that the UK and its international partners are developing to fly into service in 2035. It will also allow the UK and international partners to use real-world settings to de-risk new proprietary technology, as well as test the latter stages of development for the complex systems set to underpin the Tempest aircraft.