London (AP) – The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Agency has awarded its first joint international contract to Edgewing, a trilateral joint venture formed by BAE Systems of the UK, Leonardo of Italy, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (JAIEC).
Valued at £686 million (approximately $905-908 million), the contract funds key design and engineering activities to advance the next-generation stealth fighter programme, a collaboration between the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan. Announced on April 1 or 2, 2026, it runs until June 2026 and marks a transition from national funding to unified trilateral efforts.
Edgewing, established on June 20, 2025, with equal 33.3% shareholdings among its partners and headquartered in Reading, UK, serves as the design authority. It oversees engineering, airworthiness, and certification throughout the programme lifecycle.
The sixth-generation aircraft, part of a broader family-of-systems including unmanned platforms, aims for service entry by 2035. It will replace the UK’s and Italy’s Eurofighter Typhoons and Japan’s F-2 jets, integrating crewed and uncrewed assets across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.
This milestone accelerates delivery timelines, aligns industrial roles, and builds momentum, following national contracts. A full international contract is planned in due course.