Partner countries of the Global Combat Air Programme have formed a joint venture to develop the future fighter jet.
BAE Systems of the U.K., Leonardo of Italy, and JAIEC of Japan have equal shares in the new joint venture, with an Italian CEO to lead starting in 2025.
The joint venture's shareholders stated that the establishment will design, develop, and deliver the next-generation fighter jet throughout the programme's lifetime.
It was added that the joint venture will be open to new members, such as Saudi Arabia, which has shown interest in joining the GCAP programme.
The U.K. unveiled a demonstrator under production that will use the Eurofighter Typhoon's EJ200 turbofan engines. This demonstrator will be a testbed for avionics and new manufacturing methods.
GCAP is a multi-national programme aimed at developing a sixth-generation fighter jet. While the programme began under the name Tempest, it evolved into a consortium initiated by the U.K., Italy, Japan, and Sweden. Sweden left the programme towards the last quarter of 2024 and announced its own programme for a family of manned and unmanned combat aircraft.
