The cost of developing modern fighter aircraft is high. Therefore, in order to reduce it, the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy announced a collaboration to develop a sixth-generation fighter aircraft that began operating by 2035.
The project, dubbed the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), will combine the UK's previously announced Tempest fighter jet project with Japan's F-X fighter jet project. BAE Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Leonardo will be the main contractors with the engine being developed by Rolls Royce and the weapon system being developed by MBDA.
Collaboration is done not only to reduce costs but also to combine the engineering expertise of the three countries. The UK wants to replace their Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft with the Tempest. Threats from Russia and China are seen as a catalyst for this cooperation.
Among the capabilities of GCAP fighters in the future are that they are difficult to detect by radar, the ability to launch hypersonic weapons, cooperate with drones and be controlled by the pilot's brain control.