Aeronautics, the Gcap goes ahead: signing of the JV between Italy, Great Britain and Japan by the end of the year

The Gcap will be the world's largest fighter aircraft to date. A new conceptual model of the Gcap was unveiled last July at Farnborough , in South London, at the opening of the aerospace show that was heavily attended by mainly defence industry groups, galvanised by the increase in military spending that has been decided following the Russia-Ukraine war.

The three partner nations of the Global Combat Air Program (Gcap), together for the first time at Farnborough, together with the three strategic industrial partners, Bae Systems (Great Britain), Leonardo (Italy), and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan), outlined the steps forward in the programme that will lead to the sixth-generation fighter aircraft. The new British PM, Sir Keir Starmer, said he was 'committed to increasing military spending to 2.5% of GDP'.

The international treaty signed last December provides for a two-tier structure for the Gcap, a government agency and an industrial structure, with headquarters in Great Britain. The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2035. 'We are continuing the engineering work,' Guglielmo Maviglia, Gcap director for Leonardo, explained in July. Engineers from the three groups 'are working together under a collaboration agreement on the design and development of the next-generation fighter aircraft using a range of innovative digital tools and technologies, including computer modelling and virtual reality, which will enable the aircraft's design from the concept phase,' the joint statement said.

The division of labour, i.e. who will do what, has not yet been established. In the most important European aircraft programme, the Eurofighter, Leonardo builds the left wing in Foggia and assembles it in Turin Caselle. For the Gcap, no decision has yet been made. "The pace of the programme is extraordinary and is built on solid foundations, an industrial legacy shared with each country, under the leadership of their respective governments. Since the treaty was signed in December 2023, the programme has seen a strong commitment from everyone. Each brings different but complementary qualities and needs. Right now, we are working to exchange mutual knowledge and achieve common goals," Maviglia said.

The fighter aircraft, due to enter service in 2035, will be one of the most advanced, interoperable, adaptable and connected aircraft in service in the world, relying on an intelligent weapon system, a software-based interactive cockpit, integrated sensors and a next-generation radar capable of providing 10,000 times more data than current systems. The three companies state that 'Gcap will employ tens of thousands of skilled people in the UK, Japan and Italy, developing industrial skills and technologies for the future'.