Tokyo, January 3 - Japan has advanced its collaboration with the United Kingdom and Italy on the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a landmark initiative to develop a cutting-edge sixth-generation fighter jet. In late December 2025, Japan's Ministry of Defense held a key committee meeting to review the fiscal year 2026 budget draft and assess ongoing progress in this trilateral next-generation fighter aircraft project. This step underscores the partners' commitment to refining operational and technical details for a stealth platform designed to achieve air superiority in increasingly contested environments by 2035.
The GCAP merges expertise from BAE Systems in the UK, Leonardo in Italy, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, creating a sixth-generation stealth fighter that integrates advanced stealth characteristics, supersonic performance, and a system-of-systems architecture. Central to the recent discussions are collaborative combat drones—often termed Loyal Wingman—that will team with the manned aircraft to expand mission capabilities through distributed sensing and networked operations. Propulsion advancements, including high-temperature components and innovative thermal management from the Rolls-Royce, IHI, and Avio Aero consortium, remain a priority, alongside sensor fusion and electronic warfare systems that generate vastly more data than current platforms.
This multinational effort represents a strategic alignment to share costs, mitigate risks, and leverage complementary technologies amid evolving global security challenges. The program has progressed from a conceptual merger in 2022 to structured industrial partnerships, with a joint venture facilitating design authority and supply chain integration. A technology demonstrator flight is anticipated in 2027, paving the way for prototype development and eventual deployment of the GCAP sixth-generation fighter to replace aging fleets like Japan's F-2 and the Eurofighter Typhoon in UK and Italian service.
By finalizing budgetary and developmental details, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy are positioning the GCAP as a cornerstone of future air combat dominance, emphasizing interoperability, rapid upgrades via open mission systems, and manned-unmanned teaming. This Japan-UK-Italy fighter jet collaboration not only bolsters deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Europe but also sets a precedent for equitable trans-regional defense innovation in sixth-generation fighter jet development.
