UK, Italy, Japan ink management plan for next-gen fighter program

LONDON — Britain will host the headquarters of government and industrial organizations for the trinational Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), according to a treaty signed Dec. 14 with Italy and Japan outlining the project’s management structure.

While the British will provide the headquarters, the treaty arrangement, signed in Tokyo by defense ministers for the three nations, will initially see a Japanese CEO head the governments’ GCAP organization and an Italian CEO leading a parallel industrial headquarters.

The signing of the convention on the establishment of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) is a crucial step forward in delivering on the three-nation plan to field a sixth-generation combat jet by 2035.

For the British it will also be seen as an important move towards strengthening London’s ties in the Indo-Pacific region following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s signing of the Hiroshima Accord with his Japanese counterpart in May.

That pact involves boosting military and industry links between the two nations.

In a statement, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the program aims to be “crucial to global security, and we continue to make hugely positive progress toward delivery of the new jets to our respective air forces in 2035.”

He added, “The UK-based headquarters will also see us make important decisions collaboratively and at pace, working with our close partners Italy and Japan.”

The GCAP treaty signing comes almost a year after the three nations formally agreed to partner on the program, bringing together plans for an Anglo-Italian, next-generation combat jet with the Japanese F-X effort.

A joint development phase is scheduled to launch in 2025, said a statement from the British Ministry of Defence.

No details have yet been released on where in the U.K. the government and industrial organizations will be based and exactly who will lead them.

BAE Systems, Leonardo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the program’s lead companies, said in a joint statement talks were underway to firm up the industrial arrangements.

“Discussions on the future joint industrial construct to deliver GCAP are continuing, with representatives from Leonardo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and BAE Systems meeting recently in Tokyo” said the statement.

In September the industry partners announced a collaboration agreement to support ongoing discussions on long-term working arrangements and maturity of the concept and capability requirements for the envisioned combat aircraft.

Around 9,000 employee’s and 1,000 suppliers are already involved in the program, the companies said.

It’s possible the ongoing talks could eventually be expanded to include other partners.

Saudi Arabia has been touted as a potential future partner in GCAP, but media reports earlier this year said that such a move would not be welcomed in Tokyo.

Sweden had been involved in early discussions to partner the UK and Italy in a program known in Britain as Tempest , but dropped out earlier this year.

Within the UK, the effort is being led by BAE Systems in close partnership with Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK and MBDA UK, all of whom have been deeply involved in the British Tempest program.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——根据12月14日与意大利和日本签署的一项条约，英国将承办三国合作的全球作战航空计划（GCAP）的政府和工业组织总部，该条约概述了该计划的管理结构。

虽然英国将提供总部，但根据三国国防部长在东京签署的条约安排，最初将由一名日本首席执行官领导政府的GCAP组织，并由一名意大利首席执行官领导一个平行的工业总部。

签署关于建立全球防务合作国际政府组织（GIGO）的公约，是实现三国计划在 2035 年前部署第六代战斗机的关键一步。

对英国人来说，这也是继首相里希·苏纳克于 5 月与日本首相签署《广岛协定》之后，加强伦敦在印太地区关系的重要一步。

该协议旨在加强两国之间的军事和工业联系。

英国国防大臣格兰特·沙普斯在一份声明中表示，该计划旨在“对全球安全至关重要，我们正继续取得巨大的积极进展，争取在 2035 年将新型战机交付给各自的空军。”

他还补充道：“我们位于英国的总部还将让我们与紧密的合作伙伴意大利和日本合作，快速地做出重要决策。”

GCAP 条约的签署距离三国正式同意在该项目上开展合作已近一年，该项目将英意合作研发的下一代战斗机计划与日本的 FX 项目结合起来。

英国国防部在一份声明中表示，联合开发阶段计划于 2025 年启动。

目前尚未公布政府和产业组织在英国的办公地点以及具体由谁领导等细节。

该项目的牵头公司 BAE Systems、Leonardo 和三菱重工在一份联合声明中表示，双方正在就产业安排进行磋商。

声明称：“关于未来联合工业架构以交付GCAP的讨论仍在继续，莱昂纳多、三菱重工和BAE系统公司的代表最近在东京举行了会议。”

9 月，行业合作伙伴宣布了一项合作协议，以支持对长期工作安排以及设想中的战斗机的概念和能力要求的成熟度进行持续讨论。

两家公司表示，目前已有约9000名员工和1000家供应商参与该计划。

目前的谈判最终有可能扩大到其他合作伙伴。

沙特阿拉伯一直被认为是GCAP未来的潜在合作伙伴，但今年早些时候的媒体报道称，东京方面不会欢迎这样的举动。

瑞典曾参与早期与英国和意大利合作开展一项在英国被称为“暴风雨”（Tempest）的项目的讨论，但于今年早些时候退出了该项目。

在英国，这项工作由 BAE 系统公司牵头，并与劳斯莱斯、莱昂纳多英国公司和 MBDA 英国公司紧密合作，这些公司都深度参与了英国的“暴风雨”战斗机项目。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。