Japan, UK and Italy Propel Collaborative Development of Sixth-Generation Stealth Fighter Jet
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Japan’s new defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi held a trilateral videoconference with UK Defence Secretary John Healey and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on 25 November to drive the Global Combat Air Programme toward its first international contract between the GCAP International Government Organisation and the Edgewing joint venture.
On 25 November 2025, the defence ministers of Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy held a trilateral videoconference devoted to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), as reported by the Italian and Japanese MoDs. The meeting, chaired by Japan’s new Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi with UK Defence Secretary John Healey and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, aimed to move GCAP from political commitment to industrial reality. At the core of the talks was the imminent first international contract between the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) and the Edgewing joint venture, which will structure design, testing and early production work. This step crowns years of preparation on a common next-generation fighter to replace Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2 fleets and anchor a wider system-of-systems, including drones and advanced networks, consolidating GCAP as a key pillar of European and Indo-Pacific airpower.
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The new GCAP fighter is being conceived as a stealth, sensor-rich sixth-generation aircraft capable of coordinating manned and unmanned platforms across contested airspace (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group)
At its core, GCAP aims to deliver a stealthy, twin-engine, multirole fighter designed from the outset as the hub of an air combat network rather than a stand-alone platform. Initial concept work points to a large delta-wing aircraft optimised for range, internal payload and low observability, able to carry roughly twice the internal weapons load of an F-35A while hosting extensive sensor and processing capacity to control accompanying drones and maintain a kill chain deep inside contested airspace. The design philosophy emphasises a flexible internal weapons bay and native integration of collaborative uncrewed platforms, allowing the aircraft to switch rapidly between air-superiority, deep-strike, electronic warfare and ISR roles without sacrificing stealth. This goes beyond the fifth-generation model of a “silent striker” toward a genuine command node for manned–unmanned teaming.
The trilateral meeting follows a series of significant institutional milestones. Since the December 2022 decision to merge the UK–Italian Tempest programme with Japan’s F‑X project, the partners have concluded a binding treaty, established GIGO as the governmental management authority, and agreed to co‑locate GIGO and Edgewing at a new headquarters in Reading, UK. Edgewing, an industrial consortium formed on an equal footing by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd., was formally designated in June 2025 as the industrial lead charged with taking the fighter from design into production. The ministers’ decision to proceed with the first GIGO–Edgewing contract by year‑end therefore represents more than a procedural step: it marks the transition from concept and technology development to a structured development programme, with workshare allocations, test schedules and initial manufacturing flows being finalised to preserve the planned 2035 in‑service date.
Compared with today’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2, GCAP is conceived as a generational leap in survivability, reach and adaptability. Where Typhoon was optimised for high-end air combat over Europe, GCAP is expected to offer significantly increased range, enabling trans-Atlantic or Indo-Pacific missions on internal fuel, while carrying a larger internal payload to preserve low observability. Its open mission systems and digital backbone are being designed for rapid software updates, integration of a wide spectrum of munitions and the ability to orchestrate swarms of drones, something only partially explored on current fighters. Compared to parallel sixth-generation efforts such as the US Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) and the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS, GCAP distinguishes itself by its tri-continental partnership structure and by the political decision to align export policies early, particularly through Japan’s recent relaxation of defence-export rules specific to the programme. In practice, this could translate into a larger potential user base and greater economies of scale, provided the partners maintain cohesion on technology sharing and industrial workshare.
From a strategic perspective, the November meeting underscores how GCAP now functions as both a deterrent instrument and a vehicle of industrial policy for its three sponsoring nations. Militarily, the programme is designed to ensure that allied air forces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific can challenge contested airspace against future Russian and Chinese stealth fighters protected by dense integrated air‑defence networks, combining low observability with advanced sensors and highly networked operations alongside drones and other platforms. Geopolitically, GCAP embodies a strengthened security nexus between a NATO Europe increasingly oriented toward its eastern flank and a rearming Japan responding to regional threats; deploying a shared high‑end fighter will enable more seamless joint operations, deeper technology sharing and coordinated export campaigns in third markets. Industrially, the ministers’ emphasis on a “maximum effort” toward the first contract reflects the programme’s role as a catalyst for national aerospace ecosystems, from propulsion and advanced electronics to cyber‑secure software environments, with Edgewing positioned as a long‑term anchor for thousands of highly skilled jobs across all three countries.
The November 25 trilateral meeting marks a decisive turning point: GCAP is transitioning from political vision to an executable programme, with governments and industry aligned behind a clear contractual roadmap. If the first GIGO–Edgewing agreement is signed in the coming weeks and the current timeline holds, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan will not only field a sixth‑generation fighter by around 2035, they will also have proven that trans‑regional partners can co‑develop a complex combat system, harmonise export regimes and share sovereignty over critical technologies. For allies and competitors alike, the signal is unambiguous: GCAP has moved beyond concept and marketing copy to become a structured programme that is actively shaping the future posture of Western and Indo‑Pacific airpower.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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Japan’s new defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi held a trilateral videoconference with UK Defence Secretary John Healey and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on 25 November to drive the Global Combat Air Programme toward its first international contract between the GCAP International Government Organisation and the Edgewing joint venture.
On 25 November 2025, the defence ministers of Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy held a trilateral videoconference devoted to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), as reported by the Italian and Japanese MoDs. The meeting, chaired by Japan’s new Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi with UK Defence Secretary John Healey and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, aimed to move GCAP from political commitment to industrial reality. At the core of the talks was the imminent first international contract between the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) and the Edgewing joint venture, which will structure design, testing and early production work. This step crowns years of preparation on a common next-generation fighter to replace Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2 fleets and anchor a wider system-of-systems, including drones and advanced networks, consolidating GCAP as a key pillar of European and Indo-Pacific airpower.
The new GCAP fighter is being conceived as a stealth, sensor-rich sixth-generation aircraft capable of coordinating manned and unmanned platforms across contested airspace (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group)
At its core, GCAP aims to deliver a stealthy, twin-engine, multirole fighter designed from the outset as the hub of an air combat network rather than a stand-alone platform. Initial concept work points to a large delta-wing aircraft optimised for range, internal payload and low observability, able to carry roughly twice the internal weapons load of an F-35A while hosting extensive sensor and processing capacity to control accompanying drones and maintain a kill chain deep inside contested airspace. The design philosophy emphasises a flexible internal weapons bay and native integration of collaborative uncrewed platforms, allowing the aircraft to switch rapidly between air-superiority, deep-strike, electronic warfare and ISR roles without sacrificing stealth. This goes beyond the fifth-generation model of a “silent striker” toward a genuine command node for manned–unmanned teaming.
The trilateral meeting follows a series of significant institutional milestones. Since the December 2022 decision to merge the UK–Italian Tempest programme with Japan’s F‑X project, the partners have concluded a binding treaty, established GIGO as the governmental management authority, and agreed to co‑locate GIGO and Edgewing at a new headquarters in Reading, UK. Edgewing, an industrial consortium formed on an equal footing by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd., was formally designated in June 2025 as the industrial lead charged with taking the fighter from design into production. The ministers’ decision to proceed with the first GIGO–Edgewing contract by year‑end therefore represents more than a procedural step: it marks the transition from concept and technology development to a structured development programme, with workshare allocations, test schedules and initial manufacturing flows being finalised to preserve the planned 2035 in‑service date.
Compared with today’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2, GCAP is conceived as a generational leap in survivability, reach and adaptability. Where Typhoon was optimised for high-end air combat over Europe, GCAP is expected to offer significantly increased range, enabling trans-Atlantic or Indo-Pacific missions on internal fuel, while carrying a larger internal payload to preserve low observability. Its open mission systems and digital backbone are being designed for rapid software updates, integration of a wide spectrum of munitions and the ability to orchestrate swarms of drones, something only partially explored on current fighters. Compared to parallel sixth-generation efforts such as the US Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) and the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS, GCAP distinguishes itself by its tri-continental partnership structure and by the political decision to align export policies early, particularly through Japan’s recent relaxation of defence-export rules specific to the programme. In practice, this could translate into a larger potential user base and greater economies of scale, provided the partners maintain cohesion on technology sharing and industrial workshare.
From a strategic perspective, the November meeting underscores how GCAP now functions as both a deterrent instrument and a vehicle of industrial policy for its three sponsoring nations. Militarily, the programme is designed to ensure that allied air forces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific can challenge contested airspace against future Russian and Chinese stealth fighters protected by dense integrated air‑defence networks, combining low observability with advanced sensors and highly networked operations alongside drones and other platforms. Geopolitically, GCAP embodies a strengthened security nexus between a NATO Europe increasingly oriented toward its eastern flank and a rearming Japan responding to regional threats; deploying a shared high‑end fighter will enable more seamless joint operations, deeper technology sharing and coordinated export campaigns in third markets. Industrially, the ministers’ emphasis on a “maximum effort” toward the first contract reflects the programme’s role as a catalyst for national aerospace ecosystems, from propulsion and advanced electronics to cyber‑secure software environments, with Edgewing positioned as a long‑term anchor for thousands of highly skilled jobs across all three countries.
The November 25 trilateral meeting marks a decisive turning point: GCAP is transitioning from political vision to an executable programme, with governments and industry aligned behind a clear contractual roadmap. If the first GIGO–Edgewing agreement is signed in the coming weeks and the current timeline holds, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan will not only field a sixth‑generation fighter by around 2035, they will also have proven that trans‑regional partners can co‑develop a complex combat system, harmonise export regimes and share sovereignty over critical technologies. For allies and competitors alike, the signal is unambiguous: GCAP has moved beyond concept and marketing copy to become a structured programme that is actively shaping the future posture of Western and Indo‑Pacific airpower.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
