On Thursday, April 2, 2026, the Edgewing joint venture announced that it had received its first contract from the Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation (GIGO, or GCAP Agency) for key design and engineering activities under the UK-Italian-Japanese sixth-generation multirole aircraft program GCAP.
Photo: Edgewing
The contract is valued at 686 million GBP and will enable the trilateral partnership to gain momentum in the program’s development and accelerate the pace of future deliveries.
“This contract is an important moment for GCAP, as activities previously conducted under three nations’ contracts will now be carried out as part of a fully-fledged international programme,” – said
Masami Oka, GCAP Agency Chief Executive.
“The pace at which Edgewing and the GCAP Agency have ramped up, and are now operating, has been made possible through our shared purpose and strength of collaboration. We are proud to carry this momentum forward,” – noted Marco Zoff, Chief Executive Officer Edgewing
Image: Edgewing
The GCAP program is being carried out by the aforementioned Edgewing joint venture, composed of BAE Systems (United Kingdom), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (Japan), and is overseen on behalf of the participating governments by a coordinating body in the form of the Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation, now referred to as the GCAP Agency.
Edgewing is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of next-generation combat aircraft, with a target entry into service in 2035, and will remain the design authority for GCAP throughout its entire service life, which is expected to extend beyond 2070.
Future technologies for the GCAP program are already being tested. On December 9, 2024, Leonardo UK and 2Excel conducted the maiden flight of the Excalibur experimental aircraft, based on a Boeing 757, for the UK Ministry of Defence.
Interestingly, Poland has expressed interest in joining the program, as reported on March 19 this year by Deputy Minister of State Assets Konrad Gołota, who is responsible for overseeing state-owned defense industry companies.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Saudi Arabia had previously expressed interest in joining, and due to issues with the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS/SCAF/FSAC program (Future Combat Air System), Berlin is also reportedly interested, although independent development or cooperation with Sweden is also being considered. Sweden is pursuing its own KFS (Konceptprogram Framtida Stridsflygsystem) program, codenamed Vägval. Other interested parties reportedly include Australia, Canada, and Portugal.
The GCAP program was launched on December 9, 2022, replacing earlier national initiatives—the British Tempest and the Japanese F-X. The new aircraft is intended to replace the currently operated Eurofighter Typhoon (in the United Kingdom and Italy) as well as the F-15J/DJ Eagle and F-2 (in Japan), while also complementing the F-35 aircraft currently being introduced by all three countries. The program also предусматривает the development of an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), a so-called “loyal wingman,” along with its associated armament. Sweden had previously been interested in participating, but in 2023 it was announced that Stockholm would, as mentioned, develop a successor to the JAS 39 Gripen independently.
In addition to the three core partner companies leading the program, Leonardo stated in a separate press release that subcontractors include Avio Aero (Italy), ELT Group (Italy), IHI (Japan), MBDA (Italy and the United Kingdom), Mitsubishi Electric (Japan), and Rolls-Royce (Italy).
The first international contract has been placed for the Global Combat Air Programme.
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Find out more about this important milestone https://t.co/W9SI4SKqTy#GlobalCombatAir #GCAP pic.twitter.com/s3QbJGjyDR— GlobalCombatAir (@GlobalCombatAir) April 2, 2026
