Global Combat Air Programme
| Global Combat Air Programme
Programma Aereo da Combattimento Globale グローバル戦闘航空プログラム | |
|---|---|
| GCAP concept model (delta wing type) left rear top view in GCAP booth of JA2024 at Tokyo Big Sight 2024 | |
| General information | |
| Other name(s) | |
| Project for | Multirole fighter |
| National origin | United Kingdom Italy Japan |
| Manufacturer | BAE Systems Military Air & Information Leonardo S.p.A. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Designer | GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) Edgewing |
| Issued by | Royal Air Force Italian Air Force Japan Air Self-Defense Force |
| Prototypes | Mitsubishi X-2 flown April 2016 - March 2018 'Excalibur' Flight-test aircraft expected in 2026 Flight demonstrator expected in 2027 |
| History | |
| Initiated | December 2022 |
| Expected | 2035 |
| Developed from | BAE Systems Tempest, Mitsubishi F-X |
| Predecessors | Eurofighter Typhoon, Mitsubishi F-2 |
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The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP; Italian: Programma Aereo da Combattimento Globale; PACG; Japanese: グローバル戦闘航空プログラム, romanized: Gurōbaru Sentō Kōkū Puroguramu) is a multinational initiative led by the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy to jointly develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter. The programme aims to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Italian Air Force, and the Mitsubishi F-2 in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
On 9 December 2022, the governments of Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy jointly announced that they would develop and deploy a common fighter jet, merging their previously separate sixth-generation projects: the United Kingdom-led BAE Systems Tempest developed with Italy, and the Japanese Mitsubishi F-X. This was cemented with a treaty signed in December 2023 in Japan.
There are around 9,000 people working on the programme worldwide, with 1,000 and more suppliers from across the three partner nations. 600 such suppliers are based in the UK, and 400 are based in Italy and Japan.
Under the current timeline, the programme expects to begin the formal development phase from 2025, with a demonstrator aircraft to fly in 2027, and production aircraft to begin entering service from 2035.