With the future of the US Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) uncertain and China zooming ahead with flight testing its sixth-generation aircraft, British lawmakers are urging more scrutiny on the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) to deliver next-generation fighters by 2035.
The Global Combat Air Programme is a trilateral partnership between the UK, Japan, and Italy that seeks to design, manufacture, and deliver a next-generation crewed combat aircraft.
In a report published on the three-nation combat aircraft project on January 14, the British lawmakers insisted the GCAP would need to “break the mold” to meet its goal of producing a new-generation combat aircraft by 2035.
The development comes over two weeks after China flew two prototypes of its sixth-generation fighter jets on December 26. The tailless, supersonic stealth aircraft have been designated as the Chengdu J-36 and the Shenyang J-XX/J-50 by military watchers who believe China could be the first country to induct a sixth-generation fighter jet in service.
The flight of China’s sixth-generation prototypes came as a major surprise to the West, especially since the US NGAD next-generation aircraft program has been put under reconsideration due to staggering costs, and its future rests solely in the hands of the incoming Trump administration.
Notably, until Chinese sixth-generation aircraft prototypes took to the sky, it appeared like the GCAP partners were leading the sixth-generation combat aircraft race. Nevertheless, the flight-testing of Chinese sixth-generation aircraft has triggered a sense of urgency to keep aircraft development on track. The report has, in fact, urged the UK to be wary of making the mistakes it made in previous multi-national projects, like the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The report comes amid persisting doubts over the UK’s commitment to the program. For instance, the future of the GCAP ran into uncertainty last year as the UK’s Labor government, helmed by Keir Starmer, launched the Strategic Defence Review and refused to commit to the GCAP in July 2024.
However, the UK Prime Minister ultimately approved building the multibillion-pound fighter jet, allaying fears that the project may be shelved.
Nonetheless, in October 2024, funding cuts on the program again gave the impression that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Labour government to stay committed to the next-generation aircraft program amid enhanced scrutiny of its defense budget and financial constraints.
Against that backdrop, the latest report urges the government and industry to maintain strict control over GCAP expenses in light of mounting pressure on the defense budget. It recommends that multiyear funding—a procedure typically not used for UK defense programs—be considered since it would “provide certainty and inspire confidence from international partners.”
The parliamentarians demand greater openness over the expenses of GCAP, pointing out that it is expected to consume a “significant share of the defense budget” in the UK.
Additionally, the lawmakers urge that government-industry relationships be “carefully navigated,” that workshare arrangements “accommodate flexibility,” and that the three governments be “open-minded” about allowing other countries to join the initiative.
However, they caution that these demands must be carefully weighed to prevent “jeopardizing the 2035 in-service date.”
As previously reported by EurAsian Times, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani revealed in November 2024 that Saudi Arabia will likely join the GCAP. However, no official statement has been issued on the kingdom’s participation in the program.
To streamline working on the program, the report calls for the assimilation of the workforce from the Eurofighter program. “Today’s report calls for a holistic approach to recruitment and retention that ensures that the existing Typhoon manufacturing workforce is transitioned onto GCAP. This will be a challenge, given dwindling production of Typhoon in the UK and the gap until full-scale production of Tempest is underway.”
Additionally, the committee demands that the industry be “empowered to take timely and binding decisions as the program progresses.” It points out that GCAP could be jeopardized if the structural issues encountered on the Eurofighter program recur.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: “History shows us that costs can easily spiral, but pressures on the UK’s defense budget mean there is no margin for mismanagement.”
“GCAP must break the mold of multilateral defense programs often plagued by soaring costs and delays,” Dhesi stated. “We have a window of opportunity now, at this early stage, to make choices that set the program on the right track.”
The GCAP Is On Track So Far
The GCAP alliance was formed in 2022 by the three countries to combine their resources and expertise to create a sixth-generation aircraft with advanced technology.
The trilateral grouping had earlier stated that the aircraft would take its first flight by 2027 and would be ready for induction by a rather ambitious timeline: 2035. In contrast, the future of American NGAD is now uncertain, and the France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next-generation program is proceeding at a much slower pace than the GCAP.
The three GCAP partner nations debuted the new concept model of their future combat aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow in July of last year. To improve the aerodynamics of future combat aircraft, the concept model had a larger wingspan than previously revealed designs.
So far, the project has been catching pace given that all three members have ratified the GCAP treaty, which formally establishes the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO), an organization tasked with managing the industrial framework, setting capability requirements, and supervising the development of the next-generation fighter jet. Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Italy’s Leonardo, and Britain’s BAE Systems are leading the project as system integrators.
A fighter aircraft will be the main component of the proposed combat air system, together with unmanned “adjuncts” like drones, sophisticated sensors, and networked data systems driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
According to the GCAP partners, the aircraft will be among the world’s most advanced, networked, versatile, and interoperable fighter jets. Thanks to its software-driven interactive cockpit, integrated sensor array, intelligent weapons system, and next-generation radar, the next-generation combat aircraft will provide more data, enhancing situational awareness.
With state-of-the-art equipment, including sophisticated radar and perhaps high-power microwave capability, the fighter is designed for long-range combat and Pacific operations.
The program aims to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is used by the Italian Air Force and the Royal Air Force, and the Mitsubishi F-2, which is used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Additionally, the GCAP grouping seeks to acquire an export-oriented first-mover advantage in the sixth-generation combat aircraft market.
In fact, the latest report implores the government to encourage exports. According to the paper, exports are essential to the program’s success and will lower the partner countries’ unit costs.
However, the possibility of conflict in making export decisions is one of the committee’s concerns. The UK’s efforts to sell the Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been hindered by similar problems with Germany. The committee is also worried that Japan would pose “unique challenges” for GCAP because of its lack of expertise with defense exports.
Japan’s acknowledgment of the value of exports to GCAP partners has “greatly encouraged” the committee, according to the report. Moreover, the lawmakers call on the UK government to “continue to support and encourage Japan in making the necessary legislative and industrial progress” to guarantee the fighter’s exportability.
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