Italy has raised concerns that the UK is not fully sharing technologies in the GCAP fighter jet program, straining cooperation with Japan and threatening the coalition’s progress.
Just weeks after it was reported that Australia and Canada were poised to join the British-led Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) consortium, there may be increased turbulence as partner Italy expressed concern that the UK isn’t fully sharing technologies.
Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto called upon London to lower its “barriers of selfishness” to get the sixth-generation combat aircraft program back on track. Along with Japan, the UK and Italy have set out to develop an optionally manned next-generation fighter that could enter service by 2035.
“There is no longer anyone who can be considered first and second class and who wants to defend old legacies,” Crosetto, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, told Reuters earlier this month.
“You have to break down some barriers of selfishness. Italy has broken them down totally, and Japan has almost totally. It seems that the UK is much more reluctant to do this, and that’s a mistake because selfishness is the worst enemy of nations.”
However, Crosetto didn’t state exactly what technology the UK may have been holding back.
The rival Future Combat Air System (FCAS) has seen similar infighting. The German and French firms involved in that program disagreed on sharing intellectual property (IP), how work would be divided, and even the jet’s specifications.
As a result, FCAS has been essentially stuck in Phase 1B since December 2022, which calls for developing the concept while key technologies are identified.
The GCAP Could Still Expand
Though Crosetto didn’t offer any thoughts on Australia or Canada joining the program, but did acknowledge that Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in joining the coalition, which Rome now favors.
“The choice of Japan was key in this respect, so would be Saudi Arabia, which needs technological growth and has more resources available than our three countries,” Crosetto added.
The UK has previously pushed to expand the coalition and include Saudi Arabia, as the Middle Eastern nation could help share the high costs of developing the fighter.
As Breaking Defense previously reported, the UK is also the “second most important security partner for [the Gulf State], after the United States, providing it with equipment, training, advice, professional military education, and various defense services both in the UK and on Saudi soil.“
The UK’s commitment to the GCAP program was also questioned after last July’s general elections, which saw the Labour Party return to power after fourteen years. The previous Conservative government had committed to spending upwards of £2 billion on GCAP until 2025 and an additional £12 billion on the program overall. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has remained committed to the program.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and lack of commitment to NATO have further pushed the UK to increase defense spending, and the GCAP remains one of its key programs. Originally known as the Tempest while under development in the UK, the future stealth fighter is on track to replace Japan’s F-2 and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is currently operated by both the UK and Italy.
The multi-national industry team includes BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo, MBDA UK, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI, and Mitsubishi Electric.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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