what is it?
The CAFD or Combat Air Flying Demonstrator is a British technology demonstrator aircraft under development by BAE Systems for the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD). Commissioned in July 2022 under the then UK-led Tempest programme, the CAFD is designed to derisk the development of technologies for a future sixth-generation stealth fighter. The data collected by the demonstrator are expected to be carried over into the UK's contribution to the multinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Japan and Italy.
fun facts
- First flew -1 years ago, in 2027.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 2027
- number built
- —
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- engines
- —
- top speed
- —
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q141305606, Wikipedia: BAE Systems CAFD (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-11-08.