Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy are getting closer to achieving a major milestone in their joint partnership: the production of sixth-generation fighters.
According to information from Defence Blog, the defense ministers of the three countries met via videoconference this week to advance the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
The meeting was attended by Japanese Minister of Defense Minoru Koizumi, UK Secretary of Defense John Healey, and Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the meeting took place last Tuesday (November 25), starting at 5 p.m., and lasted approximately 80 minutes.
In a statement, Japan revealed that the ministers had detailed discussions on the progress of the program and the necessary measures to keep its development on track.
The three ministers reaffirmed their commitment from an earlier meeting in July: to finalize the first international integration contract of the program between the Global Combat Air Programme Intergovernmental Organization (GIGO) and the joint industry entity, EdgeWing, before the end of the year.
The ministers agreed to maintain “close coordination to advance the final adjustments” necessary to conclude the agreement. The contract is expected to solidify how governments and industry will integrate the project, testing, and initial production work for the future aircraft.
The GCAP program is a trilateral effort to develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft by the mid-2030s and aims to bring together the strengths of the major defense companies from the three countries: Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the UK’s BAE Systems, and Italy’s Leonardo.
Although the technical details of the aircraft’s design are still under development, officials have highlighted the propulsion system as a central element of the program.
Photo: 八重ナギ. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
