The defense ministers of Japan, Britain and Italy on Thursday agreed to establish a coordinating body to proceed with their plan to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet, a key step in putting the project into practice.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his British and Italian counterparts, Grant Shapps and Guido Crosetto, signed the treaty as they held talks in Tokyo to reaffirm the schedule for the warplane's deployment in 2035.
The Global Combat Air Program fighter project was unveiled in December last year as the three countries face increasingly severe security challenges, including Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine that began in February last year.
The program also marks Japan's first joint defense equipment development deal with a nation other than the United States, Tokyo's close security ally, amid China's growing military clout in the Indo-Pacific region.
The new organization, named "GCAP International Government Organization," will be headquartered in Britain, with a Japanese national assuming its first leadership, Kihara told a joint trilateral press announcement later in the day.
"By signing the treaty, we took a major step toward the success of this historical program," Kihara said, underscoring that the new fighter jet will be "absolutely essential to securing air superiority in skies around Japan and maintaining an effective deterrence."
Crosetto called the signing a "historic moment" for the three countries, signaling that "what happens in very faraway territories may influence our lives."
Shapps said the fighter jet production will use state-of-the-art technologies such as digital twinning, artificial intelligence, open architecture and robotic engineering that "no nation can do" alone.
The coordinating body will be in charge of managing contracts with private firms, exporting the product and drawing up fiscal plans, Japanese Defense Ministry officials told reporters.
Under the coordinating entity's supervision, a consortium formed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Britain's BAE Systems Plc and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. aims to finish the design work by 2027, according to sources close to the matter.
The Japanese government will seek parliamentary approval of the plan to set up and run the entity during the 2024 regular Diet session, aiming to secure 4 billion yen ($28 million) for Japan's share of the funds needed to operate it, the sources have said.
Tokyo wants to develop a successor to the Air Self-Defense Force's 90 F-2 fighter jets that are due to be retired starting around 2035, while London and Rome aim to replace some 240 Eurofighter jets in total, according to the officials.
To promote new fighter jet exports to third nations, the Japanese government has been trying to relax the country's strict rules for defense equipment transfers long maintained under its war-renouncing Constitution by the end of the year.
However, efforts to make the necessary regulatory changes are likely to be shelved next year since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has failed to reach an agreement on the issue with its junior coalition partner Komeito party, which is cautious about promoting weapons exports.
Before the three-way gathering, Crosetto said during a bilateral meeting with Kihara that Italy will host what he said would be the first-ever meeting of Group of Seven defense chiefs next year. Italy holds the rotating G7 chair in 2024.
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