In response to China, Russia, and North Korea’s growing threats, Japan, Britain, and Italy signed an agreement on Thursday to establish a joint organisation to develop a new advanced jet fighter.
Three countries agreed last year to merge their respective plans to produce the new combat aircraft for deployment in 2035 – the Mitsubishi F-X to replace retiring F-2s developed with the U.S. and Britain’s Tempest.
In addition to strengthening its military capabilities, Japan welcomes Britain’s greater presence in the Indo-Pacific region as it seeks to counter China’s assertiveness. As a reminder of their close ties, Britain announced on Thursday that its carrier strike group would visit Japan in 2025 for the first time in four years.
In a joint news conference with his British and Italian counterparts, Grant Shapps and Guido Crosett, Japan’s Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said that co-development of high-performance fighter aircraft is “indispensable” to securing air superiority and enabling effective deterrence at a time when security threats are growing.
The development of an advanced fighter jet involves large risks, according to Kihara, and no nation can defend itself alone today. He said the joint trilateral Global Combat Air Program was a “historic program.” Shapps said the joint project will develop cutting-edge technology and bring about “a new era of prosperity,” involving thousands of people working on the project. “It will strengthen our collective security,” he said. “The risks and problems from Europe to Indo-Pacific are clear for all to see.” Under the plan, a joint body called the GCAP International Government Organization will manage the private sector joint venture — which includes Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy, Britain’s BAE Systems PLC and Italy’s Leonardo — to oversee the aircraft’s development.
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Several hundred people from the three countries will work for the organization.
According to Kihara, a Japanese official will serve as the joint venture’s CEO and its headquarters will be in Britain. The top posts will rotate every few years.
Despite promises to ease its postwar ban on exporting jointly developed lethal weapons to third countries, Japan has failed to do so. It was working on this before Thursday’s signing, but the process has been delayed.
”We are working within the three of us. It needs updating. Otherwise, who will be able to take the project forward?” Shapps said.
Because Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution prevents it from selling a jointly developed fighter jet, it complicates the project, since Britain and Italy want to sell the new aircraft.
Earlier this year, a Japanese panel agreed to ease restrictions on the transfer of licensed technology and equipment, but it has postponed making a decision regarding the joint fighter jet until early next year.
Japanese defense officials refused to discuss how the situation would affect the joint project.
“We are keen to understand what changes can be made because the world is now a more contested place and Japan has a very important part in helping to protect the world,” Shapps said.
Shapps announced on Thursday that Britain’s carrier strike group would visit Japan during its Indo-Pacific deployment in 2025 during its visit to the Japanese guided missile destroyer JS Maya docked at Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo. In the midst of European and Middle Eastern conflicts, it is essential to show the Indo-Pacific also requires protection.
For the first time, Japan will participate in a multinational organization to jointly develop new military equipment as part of the next-generation fighter jet project.
The Japanese government has been strengthening defense partnerships with countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, including Australia and the Philippines, in response to the growing threat from China, North Korea, and Russia.
