Trilateral joint venture to manage GCAP warplane work from London

ROME — The British, Japanese and Italian firms partnered on the sixth-generation Global Combat Air Programme fighter announced on Friday the launch of a joint venture dedicated to the program which will be headquartered in London, have an Italian CEO and be up and running by mid-2025.

BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s JAIEC will each have a third share of the design and construction of the new fighter, which is expected to operate with drones and be in service by 2035.

JAIEC is a firm jointly funded by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies.

Basing the firm in the UK will ensure “maximum alignment and collaboration” with the UK-based GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) which teams the three government customers on the program.

“The new joint venture will be accountable for the design, development and delivery of the next generation combat aircraft and will remain the design authority for GCAP for the life of the product, which is expected to go out beyond 2070,” the joint venture’s founders said in a statement.

At a signing in London, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said, “Peace must be defended and defending peace has a cost, that’s why synergies among governments and companies are fundamental, nobody can make it on its own ... and (the GCAP) is a terrific example.”

BAE Systems Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said the deal was “a culmination of many months working together with our industry partners,” while Kimito Nakae, President of JAIEC said, “As we now embark upon the exciting and important journey towards the success of GCAP, I acknowledge that the way might not always be simple and straightforward.”

But he added, “I believe that through continuing the strong spirit of trilateral cooperation and collaboration that we have fostered up to this point, we will not only deliver the GCAP on time but also at a level that exceeds all of our expectations.”

BAE managing director Herman Claesen said the new joint venture would be open to new entrants like Saudi Arabia, which has shown interest in the program.

“The door is open to other partners to join, and that includes Saudi Arabia, but ultimately it is the call of the three governments,” he said.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——参与第六代全球作战空中计划的英国、日本和意大利公司周五宣布成立一家专门负责该计划的合资企业，总部设在伦敦，首席执行官为意大利人，并将于 2025 年年中投入运营。

英国航空航天系统公司 (BAE Systems)、意大利莱昂纳多公司 (Leonardo) 和日本JAIEC公司将各自拥有新战斗机设计和建造的三分之一股份，该战斗机预计将与无人机协同作战，并于2035年投入使用。

JAIEC是由日本三菱重工（MHI）和日本航空航天公司协会共同出资成立的公司。

将公司总部设在英国将确保与总部位于英国的 GCAP 国际政府组织 (GIGO) 实现“最大程度的协调与合作”，该组织负责将三个政府客户纳入该计划。

“新的合资企业将负责下一代战斗机的设计、开发和交付，并将在GCAP产品的整个生命周期内保持其设计权威地位，预计该产品将服役至2070年以后，”合资企业的创始人在一份声明中表示。

在伦敦的一次签约仪式上，莱昂纳多首席执行官罗伯托·辛戈拉尼表示：“和平必须得到捍卫，而捍卫和平是有代价的，这就是为什么政府和企业之间的协同作用至关重要，没有人能够单打独斗……（全球合作协议）就是一个很好的例子。”

BAE Systems 首席执行官 Charles Woodburn 表示，这项交易是“我们与行业合作伙伴数月共同努力的成果”，而 JAIEC 总裁 Kimito Nakae 表示：“在我们即将踏上 GCAP 成功之路的激动人心且意义重大的征程之际，我承认这条路可能并不总是简单直接的。”

但他补充说：“我相信，通过继续发扬我们迄今为止所培养的三方合作精神，我们不仅能够按时交付全球能力建设协议，而且还能达到超出我们所有人预期的水平。”

BAE 总经理赫尔曼·克莱森表示，新的合资企业将向沙特阿拉伯等对该项目表示感兴趣的新参与者开放。

他说：“我们欢迎其他伙伴加入，包括沙特阿拉伯，但最终决定权在于这三个国家的政府。”

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。