From the EU to the US to China, here are all the agreements on sixth-generation fighter aircraft

The programme developed by Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan has certain characteristics that set it apart. 'The Gcap,' explains Alessandro Marrone, Head of the Defence Programme at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (Iai), 'is a long-term partnership and a key investment for Italian defence. Italy and the United Kingdom have a strong tradition of cooperation in the aeronautical field for more than fifty years (Tornado, Eurofighter) but this is the first time that Rome and London are cooperating with an Asian partner on such an important project. Japan has a defence budget roughly double that of Italy, $56 billion in 2024. With these three legs, the project has solid prospects for financial sustainability'.

But the sixth-generation fighter game does not only see Europe moving. The USA has been looking at the Next Generation Air Dominance (Ngad) since 2014, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin in the field. The modern sixth-generation fighter is expected to replace the F-22 Raptor, which entered service in 2005, starting in 2030, but the project is being reviewed by the United States Air Force as the US Air Force's goal is to ensure greater sustainability between performance and cost (a single Ngad aircraft would cost around USD 247.5 million). Much will depend on the choices (and priorities) of the new Trump administration.

China, for its part, 'is overtaking Russia and catching up with the West in terms of technology', recalls Marrone. "They are interested in subverting US naval supremacy in the Pacific. The Chinese, whose system is very opaque, want to position themselves well in the fifth generation of fighters, and then prepare for the leap and aim for the next one'. Meanwhile, Beijing is banking on invisible aircraft. In November, at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, the Chinese giant presented its latest fighter stealth J-35. The Chinese explained that it is designed 'mainly for air combat operations' and is capable of launching 'also air-to-surface attacks'. It is not clear when it might be deployed, nor where it will be deployed. But the race has already begun. In September, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said he no longer refers to Beijing as a 'future' threat. 'China,' he stressed, 'is a threat today'.

And Russia? 'Because of the war in Ukraine,' Marrone continues, 'Moscow is turning more towards low-cost solutions, such as Iranian drones. It is not aiming at sixth-generation fighters, but at hypersonic missiles. It continues to produce Sukhoi, which continues to lose in Ukraine'.

The classification of fighters by reference to a particular 'generation' makes it possible to identify the different types of aircraft that have developed from the end of the Second World War to the present day. Belonging to the first generation (1945 - 1955) are the straight-wing subsonic fighters with fixed-geometry air intakes (e.g. the American Lockheed P-80 ShootingStar and the British Gloster Meteor). The second generation (1955-1960) is characterised by the placement of the aircraft's engines in the fuselage (instead of in the semi-wings) and the arrow-shaped wing (e.g. North American F-100). The third generation (1960¬1970), comprises fighters with strong arrow or delta wings, capable of reaching transonic or slightly supersonic speeds. To the fourth generation (1970-1995) belong fighters capable of reaching Mach 2 speed. To this category belongs the Eurofighter aircraft, which - as mentioned - is destined to be replaced by the new Gcap aircraft (which will constitute the sixth generation). Finally, the fifth generation corresponds to aircraft from 1995 onwards and equipped with highly advanced stealth technology, such as the F35.

Meanwhile, NATO, reports Bloomberg news agency based on indications from officials close to the dossier, intends to set new concrete targets for the number of tanks, aircraft, and other weapons systems to be produced by member states, which may require an increase in the alliance's defence spending target to 3 per cent of gross domestic product.