The competing Scafe project will have its headquarters in the United Kingdom and a Japanese employer

Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy have revealed the outlines of the future system of their future aviation program. Its headquarters will be in the United Kingdom and the managing director will be Japanese.

Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy on Thursday released the outlines of the future structure of their joint plan to develop a stealthy and supersonic fighter jet by 2035, which will be headquartered in the United Kingdom.

The first director-general of the program, called GCAP (Global Combat Air Program), will be a Japanese national, while an Italian will be appointed to head the program’s industrial component, according to press releases from the three countries. This first concrete step of the plan comes a year after its announcement. The joint development phase of the project is expected to begin in 2025.

It will be “one of the world’s most advanced, interoperable, adaptable and connected combat aircraft,” the British Ministry of Defense highlighted in its press release. London further underlined that its “powerful radar will be capable of providing 10,000 times more data than current systems, giving it a decisive advantage in combat”.

Japan increases its defense budget

In terms of the companies involved, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo will form the trio at the heart of the wider project. The project marks Japan’s first contact with European allies to design a fighter jet.

Japan, which currently relies heavily on its US ally to ensure its security, plans to increase its military spending by more than 56% in the 2023-2027 period compared to the previous five years. of its GDP, compared to 1% at present.

“We live in a very complex era, with the presence of aggressive actors on the international stage (…), it has become essential to stay one step ahead of the increasing threats,” recalled the Minister of Italian Defense Guido Croceto.

Agreements for the future organization of GCAP were signed in Tokyo on Thursday by Mr. It was officially signed by Croceto, his British and Japanese counterparts Grand Shops and Minoru Kihara, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.