Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | British, Japanese and Italian leaders said in a joint statement. “We are announcing the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) – an ambitious endeavor to develop a next-generation fighter aircraft by 2035,” 

“This program will deliver wider economic and industrial benefits, supporting jobs and livelihoods across Japan, Italy and the UK,” the statement said.

“It will deepen our defense cooperation, science and technology collaboration, integrated supply chains, and further strengthen our defense industrial base,” their joint statement said.

The new six generation fighter jet is seen as a replacement for Britain’s Typhoon fighters and Japan’s F-2s that will merge technologies from each of the three cooperative countries.

“The ambition is for this to be a next-generation jet enhanced by a network of capabilities such as uncrewed aircraft, advanced sensors, cutting-edge weapons and innovative data systems,” the British statement said.

All three countries are already a part of the US fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter program but new fighter jet development is not expected to affect the F-35 program. China and Russia now fly fifth-generation fighters – Beijing’s J-20 and J-31 jets and Moscow’s Su-57. 

The US also has a sixth-generation fighter jet – known as the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program – in the works. It is designed to be the successor to its F-22, which along with the F-35, is considered the world’s top fighter jet.

This is the first time within the post-world Warfare II period that Japan is growing a serious protection platform with international locations aside from the US.