The UK, Italy and Japan announced on Friday that they were going to jointly develop a sixth-generation multirole fighter, in what is now designated the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). This effectively merges the pre-existing but separate Anglo-Italian Tempest and Japanese F-X sixth-generation fighter programmes.

The importance of this development, in technological and industrial as well as defence terms, was highlighted by the fact that in the UK, for example, the announcement was made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and not by Defence Secretary (Cabinet Minister) Ben Wallace.

“[W]e need to stay at the cutting-edge of advancements in defence technology – outpacing and out-manoeuvring those who would seek to do us harm,” said Sunak. “The international partnership we have announced [on Friday] with Italy and Japan aims to do just that, underlining that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are indivisible. The next-generation of combat aircraft we design will protect us and our allies around the world by harnessing the strength of our world-beating defence industry – creating jobs while saving lives.”

In industrial and technological terms, the project will bring together Avio Aero (Italy), BAE Systems (UK), Elettronica (Italy), IHI Corporation (Japan), Leonardo (Italy), MBDA (pan-European but particularly its Italian and UK arms), Mitsubishi Electric (Japan), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) and Rolls-Royce (UK). It is reported that these groups have already developed strong working relationships (the merger of the two programmes has, over the past year or more, been seen as increasingly likely). For the UK alone, the GCAP could support 21 000 jobs a year and contribute about £26.2-billion to the economy by 2050.

The first step in the combined programme will be the establishment of the core platform concept and the creation of the structures required to implement the GCAP, which is a very large-scale project indeed. The development phase for the aircraft will commence in 2025. The first example should make its maiden flight in 2035. Construction of the aircraft is expected to employ the latest manufacturing technologies, including autonomous robots and advanced additive manufacturing (popularly called ‘3D printing’).

As a sixth-generation design, the GCAP will include advanced sensors, innovative data systems, advanced weapons and the ability to operate with uncrewed aircraft. “The international partnership with Italy and Japan to create and design the next-generation of Combat Aircraft, represents the best collaboration of cutting-edge defence technology and expertise shared across our nations, providing highly skilled jobs across the sector and long-term security for Britain and our allies,” affirmed Wallace.