The governments of the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan have awarded a £4.6 billion (US$6.3 billion) contract for the next phase of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the trilateral effort to develop a sixth-generation fighter scheduled to enter service in 2035.
The agreement was signed through the GCAP Agency and awarded to Edgewing, the joint venture created by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. (JAIEC) to serve as the program’s prime contractor and design authority.
The 18-month contract covers completion of the advanced concept and assessment phase together with the start of detailed design and development. It follows a previous £686 million international contract awarded to Edgewing in April.
According to the partner nations, the work will define the aircraft’s final requirements, mature its design and support engineering and testing activities before the program enters subsequent development phases.
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GCAP originated in 2022 after the United Kingdom’s Tempest program and Japan’s F-X fighter project were combined into a single effort. Italy later joined the partnership, with the three countries seeking a common aircraft to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in British and Italian service and the Mitsubishi F-2 in Japan.
The future fighter is expected to combine low-observable features, advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, extensive data fusion and the ability to operate alongside collaborative combat aircraft and other autonomous platforms.
Separate multinational teams are also developing the aircraft’s propulsion system and its sensors, communications and electronic warfare suite.
The British government confirmed this week that it will allocate £8.6 billion to GCAP over the next four years under its Defence Investment Plan, funding the UK’s contribution to the program during that period.
The latest contract also comes only weeks after France and Germany abandoned the rival Future Combat Air System (FCAS) following years of industrial disagreements between Dassault Aviation and Airbus. The decision leaves GCAP as the only multinational sixth-generation fighter program currently advancing toward full-scale development.
