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Japan’s next-generation fighter jet project set for boost as European rival stalls
Germany, France and Spain have put their project on hold, prompting speculation that some may turn to the Japan-UK-Italy programme
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Japan’s Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), its next-generation fighter project in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Italy, may be given a boost now that the development of a similar aircraft has been put on hold.
Germany, France and Spain have indefinitely postponed the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), prompting suggestions that some or all participants may instead turn to the rival GCAP.
On December 30, German defence media outlet Hartpunkt reported that the “faltering” project, long beset with political differences, had missed an end-of-year deadline set by Berlin for a final decision on whether to proceed.
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French aerospace company Dassault was not backing down from its insistence on a greater share of the development and manufacturing of the aircraft, which meant that “the timeline … is no longer feasible”, Hartpunkt reported.
“FCAS has had problems going back some years, partly political and partly because the three nations want to supplement and replace their existing fighters at different times,” Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University, told This Week in Asia.
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Given the worsening security challenges in Eastern Europe and globally, Germany in particular did not want to delay the deployment of an aircraft with the potential to dominate the skies, the military specialist said.
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