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QinetiQ and its Aurora Partners Atkins and BMT have been awarded a contract to provide technical support to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Enterprise and the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Catalyst delivery team, which is responsible for delivering the latest combat air capabilities to UK frontline commands.
Under this £31 million Engineering Delivery Partner (EDP) contract, one of QinetiQ’s primary tasks will be supporting the delivery of the FCAS, which will result in a new advanced combat aircraft replacing the Typhoon from the mid-2030s.
FCAS is one of the major capabilities which the Catalyst Delivery Team has contracted as part of this wider program, which also includes support to uncrewed systems and digital engineering capability development. Together, these aim to enable DE&S to deliver the necessary engineering outputs required by the MoD to support the development of future FCAS capabilities as they are acquired and brought into service.
QinetiQ will provide a range of support to Catalyst, using its digital engineering capabilities and experience in requirements management. This will include engineering support initially focussing on Human Performance, Safety and Systems Engineering disciplines through to August 2025. As the Catalyst program grows, EDP provides a strong platform to support emerging requirements for years to come.
Delivered through the EDP, this work will be supported by its EDP Aurora Partners Atkins and BMT along with a number of provider network organizations. It will also utilize Requirements Management expertise provided by QinetiQ’s subsidiary business, Inzpire.
“The Aurora Engineering Partnership with the UK MoD and DE&S continues to go from strength to strength, providing technical support to the most complex acquisition programs,” said Nic Anderson, Chief Executive UK Defense, QinetiQ. “Our work with Catalyst DT will help accelerate new ways of working using digital engineering methodologies in supporting the next generation of combat air platforms.”
“This contract will put QinetiQ and our EDP Partners in Aurora at the heart of key new combat air capabilities for the UK MoD in the years to come, and help DE&S bring the significant engineering capabilities of EDP and the wider provider network to support the FCAS program,” said Robert Galvin, Head of Business Development Air Engineering Services, QinetiQ.
The contract win follows a successful initial FCAS contract delivered over the previous two years. QinetiQ believes it will open up new opportunities to its Early Careers community of new graduates, apprentices and younger employees. The company also believes it will support the introduction of new technologies and delivery approaches for the next generation of aircraft Test & Evaluation.
