By Cristina Gallardo
BAE Systems, Leonardo and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said they will be equal partners in a joint venture tasked with developing a sixth-generation fighter jet.
The Global Combat Air Programme is aimed at putting a stealth fighter with supersonic capability in the skies by 2035.
The new joint venture will be responsible for the design, development and delivery of the aircraft, as well as the design of any future iterations for as long as the jet remains in the market, which the companies expect could be beyond 2070.
The U.K.'s BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo and Mitsubishi's Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement will each hold a 33.3% stake, they said in a joint statement Friday.
The new joint venture will likely be up and running by the middle of 2025, with headquarters in Reading, U.K. and operations and joint teams working in each partner countries. Its first chief executive will be from Italy, the companies said.
Leonardo Chief Executive Roberto Cingolani told an event in London Friday that the challenge of developing a sixth-generation fighter jet, with a fleet of accompanying drones and ultra-fast computational systems allowing for decisions in real-time, was only comparable to the collaborative efforts of large space projects.
The announcement comes after a period of uncertainty over the U.K. government's commitment to the program, following the arrival of the Labour Party to power in last summer's general election. The joint venture is established under an international treaty bringing together the U.K., Italy and Japan.
Kimito Nakae, president of Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement, sounded a note of caution over the program, noting that the path ahead "might not always be simple and straightforward."
"However, I believe that through continuing the strong spirit of trilateral cooperation and collaboration that we have fostered up to this point, we will not only deliver the GCAP on time but also at a level that exceeds all of our expectations," he added.
BAE Systems Charles Woodburn praised the "hard work" of those involved in the "strategically important program".
GCAP's resulting warplane is expected to compete with a second European consortium formed by France, Spain and Germany, called the Future Combat Air System, which could face delays linked to political uncertainty in Paris and Berlin. FCAS partners include Airbus, Dassault Aviation and Indra Sistemas.
Shares in BAE Systems and Leonardo fell 1.24% and 0.31% respectively in early-afternoon trade.
Write to Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-13-24 0913ET
