Airbus Willing to Join U.K.-Japan-Italy Fighter Jet Project

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus could potentially join a British-Japanese-Italian consortium to build a next-generation fighter jet following the collapse of a highly-troubled French-German project, CEO Guillaume Faury said Wednesday.

The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) is an initiative launched in 2022 between the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy to develop a sixth-generation, multi-role combat aircraft fighter — targeted to entering service in 2035. The British government detailed in July that the three countries secured a 4.6 billion British pounds contract (roughly $6.12 billion) for the project.

Per The Japan Times, Airbus CEO Faury said during a Wednesday media call in Paris that joining the GCAP would be a “solution” after the collapse of France and Germany’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a 100 billion euro project launched in 2017 that was ultimately scrapped in June after continued design disagreements between Airbus and France’s Dassault Aviation. Airbus represented Germany and Spain in the ill-fated FCAS project.

Faury reportedly said Berlin is in contact with other countries for possible “partnerships” on the subject, affirming that it would be for movements to decide “not in the too distant future.

“We are supporting and working closely with the German and the Spanish governments on the future of the next-generation fighter,” which must be “in Europe and for Europe,” Faure reportedly said.

“Basically at Airbus we continue to believe in the need for a sixth-generation fighter in Europe as a cooperation program. And we want to be part of that solution for Europe.”

Parallel to Faury’s remarks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Tokyo that Germany is evaluating the possibility of “playing a role” in the GCAP. Merz is presently conducting a two-day official visit to Japan.

The German Chancellor met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with both countries signing a joint statement calling for a deepening their mutual cooperation in areas such as economy, security, and supply chains for critical raw materials, among others.

Merz, however, pointed out that Berlin might not be able to meet Japan’s ⁠expected timeline of reaching a decision on the matter before the start of 2027, Reuters reports. The Asian nation has emphatically stressed upon the need to maintain the 2035 target goal — given the potential security threats from China’s military expansion, and due to the fact that Japan is set to start the retirement process for its aging F-2 fighters that same year.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that the United Kingdom was open to having Germany join the GCAP fighter jet project during Burnham’s official visit to Berlin. At press time, Canada is part of the project as an observer, a position that does not involve financial commitments, while Saudi Arabia has reportedly expressed interest in joining the initiative.