BAE will this year ramp up its work on a project to develop a next-generation fighter plane to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The aerospace giant, which has a base in Brough in East Yorkshire, will accelerate its Tempest programme throughout 2020.
BAE is working alongside partners Leonardo, missile maker MBDA and Rolls-Royce on the project, and must submit a business case for Tempest by December.
As part of the scale-up, around 100 employees at BAE’s Brough site will be transferred from manufacturing roles into engineering positions.
It comes as manufacturing work in Brough enters its final stages on parts for the Qatari Air Force’s existing Hawk fleet. Beyond that, BAE has no new orders for its Brough site.
Speaking to the Financial Times about Tempest, Andrew Kennedy, strategic campaigns director in BAE Systems’ Air division, said: “We have to give the government confidence we are working towards a viable international partnership.
“They have to be confident we are doing something that will be affordable, capable and delivered on time.
“Team Tempest will ensure the UK has the capability to sit at the top table in an international collaborative programme.”
As the Tempest programme accelerates, the four partner companies will more than double the UK workforce involved in the next-gen fighter jet, from the current 1,000 to 2,500.
In Brough, existing manufacturing staff are being re-deployed into engineering roles.
The Tempest programme comes at an important time for BAE, as uncertainty over the future of its manufacturing department in Brough lingers.
Engineering work is also ongoing at BAE’s Brough base for other crucial projects, including Dreadnought – an upcoming military submarine – and the Typhoon plane.
A spokesman at BAE said: “The 100 roles we were moving from manufacturing to engineering in Brough are included in the new figures released as part of the Tempest programme.
“What we would say, is if the right people with the right skills are in the Brough or East Yorkshire area, we would consider them. We want the right people working on this programme.”
Tempest is expected to replace the existing Eurofighter Typhoon jet, and can be flown either with pilots or as a drone.
The programme aims to keep the UK at the forefront of future air combat.
The current aim is for the Tempest fighter jet to be operational by 2035.
Speaking previously, Gavin Williamson, then-defence secretary, said of Tempest: “We have been a world leader in the combat air sector for a century, with an enviable array of skills and technology, and this strategy makes clear that we are determined to make sure it stays that way.
“British defence industry is a huge contributor to UK prosperity, creating thousands of jobs in a thriving advanced manufacturing sector, and generating a UK sovereign capability that is the best in the world.”
