RAF Expands Loyal Wingman Program with New UK ACP Tranche 2 Requirements

Published:

August 13, 2025

Updated:

August 13, 2025

RAF Expands Loyal Wingman Program with New UK ACP Tranche 2 Requirements

UK Royal Air Force photo

The UK has officially moved its Loyal Wingman program from talk to action. A new notice for Autonomous Collaborative Platforms, Tranche 2, spells out what the Ministry of Defence wants, how much it’s planning to spend, and when contracts are expected. It lists key categories, rough budget numbers and a timeline. Major defense companies have taken note, but they’re keeping their plans to themselves. Behind the scenes, teams are working through payload options, export routes and pricing.

The Royal Air Force is already flying the first version, giving them real data to shape what comes next. The gap between concept and real-world use is getting smaller. Industry response has been careful so far. The real focus now is on cost, how many can be built, and how well they’ll work with the Typhoon, F-35B and the upcoming GCAP fighter.

UK ACP Tranche 2

The UK has laid out the details for Autonomous Collaborative Platforms Tranche 2 in a formal notice posted July 29, 2025. It lists a project value of £20 million excluding VAT, or £24 million with VAT. The deadline for engagment is September 12. The MoD expects to publish the tender around April 27, 2026, with contracts running from April 29, 2027, to April 29, 2029.

The notice breaks the focus into five lines:

Full electromagnetic warfare capability, including vehicles, payloads, ground control and logistics.
Low-signature vehicles built to survive modern air defences.
One-way, low cost drones meant for mass production.
Stand-alone EW payloads that work across bands.
Autonomy designed to reduce hands-on control while still carrying out complex missions under human supervision.

StormShroud, 216 Squadron, and BriteStorm

The RAF is already flying StormShroud, its first operational Autonomous Collaborative Platform. Its built around the Tekever AR3 drone, carrying Leonardo UK’s BriteStorm payload. The payload handles radar jaming from inside contested airspace, targeting integrated air defences. When the RAF rolled it out in May, senior leadership made it clear: this isn’t a test. Autonomy has moved out of trails and into daily squadron life. 216 Squadron is running the show, tying these drones into F-35B and Typhoon operations.

The unit is collecting the kind of data that actually defines value – battery swaps, hardware failures, how fast crews can set up in rough weather, how links hold up when the payload starts jamming. They’re watching how quickly ground crews can load, launch, and turn the aircraft over a full day. All of that feeds into the requirements for whatever comes next.

Leadership hasn’t tried to oversell the program. Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton has been direct – ACPs are meant to work alongside crewed aircraft, not sit on the sidelines as tech demos. The official rollout emphasized speed – StormShroud went from approval to fielding in about a year. That’s the model now: buy, fly, refine. Tranche 2 builds on that. It doesn’t replace StormShroud, it expands the concept-pushing for longer range, more capable payloads, and better survivability.

Industry responses and teaming signals

Large defense firms are keeping their public statements limited.

BAE Systems

BAE says its FalconWorks unit plans an ACP demonstrator flight in 2026, close to the expected tender and contract window. The company has not discussed configurations in public. GCAP work is running in parallel, supplier deals sit under NDA’s, and export-control guidance is still shifting as teams pick sensors and software. The public line is that the requirement is under assesment while engineering trades continue.

Leonardo UK

Leonardo appears well placed on payloads. BriteStorm already flies on StormShroud, pointing to options for heavier carriers and different antenna layouts. Wider bands and revised power and cooling could boost effects while keeping cost per shot in the low-cost, expendable range. Company comments suggest an active review of the notice. The road map aims to scale payloads across multiple airframes rather than rely on one design.

Newer defense tech firms and European partners

Anduril and Rheinmetall said in June they will co-develop European variants of Barracuda and Fury and explore local rocket-motor production. That mix matches the notice’s call for attritable and expendable airframes and fast, scalable manufacturing. A UK or broader European assembly route would support bids built around one-way vehicles or launched effects. Reviewers will also look at how the autonomy stack ties into RAF command and control. Public statements emphasize taskable systems over closed-box automation.

Spirit AeroSystems

Spirit has history in the UK loyal wingman effort through Project Mosquito, which the government canceled in 2022 after review. The takeaway was a shift to nearer-term, additive capabilities with lower cost and faster delivery. That experience still shapes how companies speak in public. Many are avoiding firm claims on near-term stealth or high-end autonomy if those risks could undermine the schedule set out in the notice.

Force design and integration with Typhoon, F-35B, and GCAP

The money in the notice is modest for full platforms, but real for a concept phase. £20-24 million can fund prototypes, payload chains and instrumented trials with front-line squadrons. The estimated tender date lines up with Typhoon exercise cycles and with carrier deployments.

Typhoon stays the near-term land anchor. The F-35B link grows when Carrier Strike sails with contested-air missions. Carrier rules narrow the field: ramp space, weapons handling and deck choreography set the size and weight that make sense. The notice already says ACPs must fly from carriers when needed. In practice that means clear choices on wing loading, launch method and stowage.

GCAP runs in parallel as the future lead for crewed flight. The RAF wants ACPs that mature on current jets and move forward without major refits. So: open interfaces, software-defined radios and mission systems that squadrons can upgrade in the field.

One-way vehicles need proven unit prices at volume, not glossy targets. EW payloads must show band coverage that matches known threat emitters. Signature-managed air vehicles need the right loadouts and simple maintainence. The notice calls for rapid manufacture at scale.

The RAF has set guardrails the industry can work with. The notice spells out what to bring, when to bring it and how it will be judged. It avoids tying the whole effort to one airframe. There’s room for attritable vehicles, recoverable drones with heavier payloads and control software that spans both. Suppliers are staying cool in public because cross-border teaming now dominates. Anduril with Rheinmetall is one example; others may pair UK primes with European UAV makers or match US payload houses with UK integrators. Those deals take time to clear legally and for export, so many will wait for the formal tender before saying more.