MOSCOW, 14 Dec Britain hopes new generation fighters , which will be jointly developed by Britain, Italy and Japan, will help counter Russia and China, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday, citing British Defense Minister Grant Shapps.
“These efforts come as we face growing danger in the skies and international airspace is increasingly contested, not least because of threats posed by Russia and China,” the newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
The Minister noted that the Global Combat Aviation Program (GCAP) is aimed at “strengthening collective security.”
Earlier it became known that the defense ministers of Japan, Great Britain and Italy signed an agreement in Tokyo on the creation of an organization for the joint development of a new generation fighter. The headquarters of the organization will be in Britain, headed by a representative of Japan, and the head of the production part will be a representative of Italy.
Italy and Japan, together with the UK, are participating in the Global Combat Air Program to jointly develop a new generation fighter by 2035. It is expected that countries should begin developing the concept's basic platform in 2023, and begin the actual development of the fighter in 2024. The main contractors in the project are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for Japan, BAE Systems Plc for the UK and Leonardo SpA for Italy.