UK, Italy and Japan Merge Plans for Next-Generation Fighter

  • Long-pacifist Tokyo brings financial muscle to project
  • Washington indicates its support for warplane accord

Britain and Italy agreed to merge plans for a next-generation warplane with a parallel project in Japan, in a bid to bring a new fighter into service by 2035 amid heightened tensions with Russia and China.

The deal to create the Global Combat Air Programme, announced Friday, effectively combines the European Tempest and Japanese F-X projects, both of which have been in the pipeline for years.

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UK, Italy and Japan Merge Plans for Next-Generation Fighter