As part of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), Japan, the UK and Italy have agreed to develop a sixth-generation fighter aircraft. This was reported by The Drive.

The publication recalls that initially London worked on the Tempest war program, in which Italian and Swedish companies participated. The British side cooperated with Tokyo in the field of creating an engine for a promising fighter aircraft. According to the release notes, now three parties – Japan, the UK and Italy – have announced joint work within the framework of GCAP. According to The Drive, Sweden is not participating in this programme.

The joint development of the sixth-generation fighter is expected not only to share the high costs of creating a new aircraft, but also to allow countries to have a new fighter by the middle of the next decade.

Drive suggests that work on GCAP will draw on the experience of the US fifth-generation F-35 fighter program, with the UK being the US’s only Tier 1 partner. Also, the publication reminds that Italy and Japan are the only countries in the world where F-35 assembly lines are located outside the United States.