Everything BAE has released — and everything they haven't.
Brontanax was rolled out as a pre-production Operational Concept Demonstrator. BAE has intentionally kept detailed performance figures classified. What follows is drawn only from the Farnborough 2026 briefing and reputable defence-press reporting.
On the record
- Programme name
- Brontanax
- Type
- Uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), loyal wingman
- Manufacturer
- BAE Systems — FalconWorks division
- Design & build site
- Warton, Lancashire, United Kingdom
- Configuration
- Low-observable delta wing, canted twin tails, single engine
- Air inlet
- Belly-mounted, below the nose
- Size class
- Comparable to a BAE Systems Hawk trainer
- Prototype engine
- Williams International turbofan (reported)
- Planned engine
- Rolls-Royce Orpheus family (BAE working with Rolls-Royce)
- Maximum take-off weight
- Above 5 tonnes (reported)
- Wings, fins & control surfaces
- GKN Aerospace, Cowes, Isle of Wight
- BAE self-funding
- More than £400 million since 2022 (reported)
- Primary mission set
- Electronic warfare · precision strike (air-to-air and air-to-ground)
- Teaming
- Crewed Typhoon today · GCAP / Tempest from the 2030s
- Autonomy
- Uncrewed, pilot- or mission-commander directed, open architecture
- Development start
- 2022
- Power-on target
- Q3 2026
- Ground trials
- First half of 2027
- First flight target
- H2 2027 (paired with a Typhoon, NATO Steadfast Defender 27)
- Entry into service
- Before the end of the decade (~2029–2030)
Not disclosed
- Length, wingspan, height
- Empty weight and exact maximum take-off weight
- Internal or external payload capacity
- Cruise / dash speed
- Combat radius and ferry range
- Endurance
- Production engine designation and thrust
- Sensor and EW payload details
- Weapon types and carriage arrangement
- Radar cross-section figures
This site does not publish speculative performance figures. If a number appears elsewhere on the internet with a specific decimal, treat it as inference until BAE or the MoD confirms it.
Open-source airframe study.
A third-party technical drawing of the Brontanax configuration, built on open-source programme information. The drawing carries a May 2024 data note, so it predates the Farnborough 2026 unveiling. It is not a BAE Systems official release and should be read as an illustrative study, not a verified specification sheet. We will publish an updated study once BAE Systems or the MoD release official material from the programme.
