Leonardo chief Lorenzo Mariani has left the door open for German industry to join the Global Combat Air Programme, reviving debate over whether Berlin could move into the UK-Italy-Japan fighter project after the collapse of FCAS. The sixth-generation programme, centred on work in Nagoya, Warton and Turin, is already in development for entry into service around 2035, and any German role would need to fit into an increasingly tight schedule.
Mariani has argued that additional partners could strengthen the programme financially and industrially, with Airbus and Hensoldt seen as possible entry points for German participation. That could bring fresh funding, engineering depth and potential future aircraft orders, but it would also reopen sensitive discussions over workshare, leadership and the industrial structure of a programme that is already well advanced. A pure integrator role for Airbus would be unlikely to be attractive, while subsystem work could offer a more realistic route.
The timing is politically significant because Germany is still reassessing its combat air options after FCAS fell apart. For the GCAP partners, German involvement would add capability and market weight, but any accession process would need agreement from governments and industry and could complicate the programme’s current momentum.