Defence News weren't there.
I was, Francis Tusa was, Craig Hoyle from Flight was, Tony Osborne from AWST was, a couple of local reporters were, and so were four Japanese reporters.
Plenty of details were given about the ejection seat tests, but perhaps not if you were simply relying on the press release!Crew escape system testing
Working alongside Martin Baker, a team of BAE Systems engineers led ejection seat trials, using an aerodynamically representative forward fuselage section mounted on a rocket-propelled sled - travelling at speeds of up to 450 kts. The seat for the Flying Technology Demonstrator will be an unmodified Martin Baker Mk16A ejection seat as used in the Typhoon, and aircrew will wear Typhoon flying gear, including the AEA and Mk 10 helmet, which were also used by the test mannequins.
The crew escape system team also included experts from GKN (canopy design), Hamble Aerostructures (fitment of detonator cords), and rig manufacturers EDM Ltd, as well as specialists from the Royal Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) and scientists from the Ministry of Defence.
The crew escape system test campaign started on 16 December 2021 with a static firing at Martin Baker’s factory airfield at Chalgrove, proving the canopy design – which was a cast acrylic design incorporating MDC technology from the BAE Hawk advanced jet trainer. This was followed by a series of four sled test seat qualification firings at Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland. Firings were made at two speeds (280 kts and 450 kts), using two different classes of mannequin. The class 1 mannequin represented a lightweight female pilot in summer flying gear, while the class 6 mannequin represented a heavy male pilot in winter kit.
The first firing was made on 31 March 2022, at 280 kts, with a second following on 28 April at 450 kts. Another 280 kt firing was achieved on 23 June and the final 450 kt test was undertaken three months ahead of schedule at the end of June.