Japan, UK and Italy to speed up joint next-generation fighter jet project to replace F-2, Tempest

Tokyo: The defense ministers of Japan, the U.K. and Italy agreed to accelerate the joint development of a next generation fighter jet, and announced t...

Tokyo: The defense ministers of Japan, the U.K. and Italy agreed to accelerate the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet, and announced that a trilateral government organization would be established by the end of this year to work with the parties producing the aircraft, Japanese officials said Sunday.

The three countries agreed in 2022 to jointly produce a new combat aircraft that will be ready for deployment in 2035, under the Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP, to strengthen cooperation in the face of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.

The next generation fighter jet would replace Japan’s retiring F-2s that it jointly developed with the U.S. and Britain’s Tempest.

On Sunday, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, after meeting with his U.K. and Italian counterparts, John Healey and Guido Crosetto, said a joint body called the GCAP International Government Organization, or GIGO, will be set up by the end of this year to oversee the aircraft’s development.

The ministers met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven defense ministers meeting in Naples, Italy.