The aim of the agreement is to put an advanced first-line fighter into service by 2035 by merging the British-led Future Combat Air System project – also known as Tempest – and the Japanese FX program into an organization called the Global Combat Air Programme, According to the three countries in their statement issued on Friday.
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and increased Chinese military activity around Japan and Taiwan, the deal could help Japan counter the growing military might of its larger neighbor and give Britain a greater security role in a region that is a key engine of global economic growth. . Reuters news agency.
We are committed to preserving a free and open international order based on rules, which is more important than ever at a time of increasing threats and aggression.
– Announces the statement of the joint leadership of the three countries.
This month, Japan will announce its military development plan, which is expected to double defense spending to about 2 percent of GDP over five years.
Separately, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his country needed to stay at the forefront of defense technology and that the deal would create new jobs.
Britain’s BAE Systems PLC, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Italy’s Leonardo will lead the design of the aircraft, which the Japanese Ministry of Defense says will have advanced digital capabilities in artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.
NATO compatibility
The European missile manufacturer MBDA, as well as the aviation company Mitsubishi Electric Corp., joined the project. The ministry added that Rolls-Royce PLC, IHI Corp and Avio Aero will work on the engine.
However, the three countries have yet to lay out some details on how the project will proceed, including the division of labor and the development site. Sources familiar with the talks told Reuters that Britain also wanted Japan to improve the way it issues security clearances to contractors working on the planes. Britain said other countries could join the project, adding that the fighter, which will replace Typhoon fighters and complement the F-35 Lightning fleet, will be compatible with fighters flown by other NATO partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Confirmation of the plan comes days after French, German and Spanish companies confirmed the next phase of a competing initiative to build a next-generation fighter jet that could enter service from 2040.
The United States through its membership in NATO and a separate security agreement with Japan He took over the protection of all three countriesHe welcomed the joint European-Japanese agreement.
The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with like-minded allies and partners, including the United Kingdom and Italy
– states the joint statement of the US Department of Defense with the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
Japan originally considered building its next fighter jet with the help of US defense contractor Lockheed Martin, who proposed an aircraft that would combine the F-22’s airframe and flight systems of the F-35 fighter jet.
(Cover photo: Rishi Sunak [j2]Mike Wigston [b] Behind a model of a Tempest fighter jet on December 9, 2022. Photograph: Joe Giddens/Pool/AFP)
