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Britain, Italy, and Japan awarded a £4.6 billion ($6.1 billion) contract to industry joint venture Edgewing on Friday to advance the next phase of development for the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet targeted for service entry in 2035.
The contract, jointly funded by the three nations, was awarded through the GCAP Agency to Edgewing, a joint venture formed by Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement.
The contract will finance the next stage of the aircraft's design by establishing its key requirements and rigorous testing, according to a UK government statement.
"The Global Combat Air Program will give our pilots a cutting-edge stealth fighter jet. Signing this £4.6 billion contract alongside Italy and Japan is a major step forward towards delivery," Luke Pollard, Britain's minister for defense readiness, said in a statement.
The GCAP fighter jet will work alongside Typhoons, F-35s, and autonomous systems as part of a next-generation Royal Air Force, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
The aircraft will use digital engineering, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies.
BAE Systems has previously said the GCAP aircraft would be three to four meters longer than the Typhoon and designed to fly a longer range.
The contract award follows nine months of delays over Britain's constrained military budget. The UK committed £8.6 billion over four years to GCAP as part of its Defense Investment Plan, confirmed earlier in the week, providing its share of the tri-nation program's funding.
"This milestone strengthens our partnership with international allies, supports thousands of highly skilled jobs across the U.K., and will give the RAF the tools they need to keep the UK safe, all backed by an £8.6bn commitment in the Defense Investment Plan," Pollard said.
The program already supports 4,500 jobs across the United Kingdom, with a supply chain of approximately 600 organizations, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The contract award comes after a rival Franco-German fighter program collapsed in June, leaving European defense alliances in flux and making it more likely another country could seek to join GCAP.
Italy's defense minister said in June that opening GCAP to other nations would help share costs. Leonardo told Reuters that Germany would be a particularly valid partner given its expertise. Saudi Arabia and Canada have also looked at the program.
Any expansion would require the agreement of all three founding members, and executives have previously said there could be opportunities for countries to join later at varying levels of involvement.
Edgewing, the joint venture developing the aircraft, is headquartered in Britain with a chief executive from Italy.
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