Britain, Japan, and Italy have signed an international treaty to establish a programme aimed at developing an advanced fighter jet.
The agreement, which Reuters reported this month, comes a year after the three countries established their first major defence industry collaboration by merging the separate next-generation fighter efforts of London and Tokyo.
Further, the parliaments of each country must ratify the agreement, which aims to see the combat aircraft in flight by 2035.
Noteworthy, the supersonic stealth jet will feature a radar that can provide 10,000 times more data than current systems.
The joint development phase of the advanced fighter jet programme will begin in 2025.
Both the joint government headquarters of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and its industry counterpart will be based in Britain.
Further, the government organisation’s first chief executive will come from Japan, while the first leader of the business organisation will be from Italy, according to the announcement.
However, as of now the decision regarding who would head the company has not been taken.
Also, Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo, European missile maker MBDA and engine maker Rolls-Royce are involved in the project.
Besides, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japanese avionics manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corp, and engine makers IHI Corp and Avio Aero are also involved.
