L’UE cancella l’impresa per la cooperazione da combattimento a getto tra Regno Unito, Italia e Giappone

>#EU clears venture for fighter jet co-operation between UK, Italy and Japan

>__Project seeks to create an alternative to the US’s next-generation programme after F-35 jet__

>The European Commission has approved a deal between Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co to govern the production of a next-generation fighter jet.

>The joint venture, which Brussels cleared on Monday, comes as key US allies such as Italy, the UK and Japan rethink their historical reliance on US defence equipment in light of Donald Trump’s presidency and his pullback from long-standing US security guarantees for Europe.

>The project will seek to create an alternative to the US’s next-generation fighter jet programme. The existing F-35 fighter and its predecessors are a mainstay for Nato air forces, but this has prompted concern in some capitals about their over-reliance on Washington.

>Brussels concluded that the deal did not raise competition concerns in the bloc.

>The joint venture, which will be based in the UK, will manage the design, development and delivery of the next-generation combat aircraft under the Global Combat Air Programme.

>Unveiled in 2022, GCAP aims to have aircraft flying by 2035, and is one of the most ambitious military programmes ever attempted, aimed at expanding each nation’s defence capabilities to address rising security threats from Russia and China.

>The EU is actively encouraging industrial co-operation in the defence sector, for example via joint procurement through a new fund which will allow for the participation of companies from third countries such as the UK and Japan if they sign co-operation agreements.

>The fighter jet project, whose final cost is not yet known, is a key part of the UK’s ambition to modernise its armed forces.

>The UK government on Monday set out its defence plan for the next 10 years as part of a long-awaited strategic review. As part of the review, it will pledge to spend billions of pounds on new submarines, long-range weapons and ammunition.

>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier on Monday said the UK needed to modernise and strengthen its armed forces rapidly to deter conflict, arguing the UK “cannot ignore the threat Russia poses”.

Good; let’s start getting stuff done.

What would have happened if the EU hadn’t cleared this venture? Apart from maybe forcing Italy to pull out of the venture (doubtful), UK and Japan would have still gone ahead and EU member states could still buy these jets (once developed and available for purchase) using their defence budgets. EU could exclude it from the ReArm fund, but then that would mean relying solely on FCAS if it wishes to move away from US dependency..

Let Canada join too!

I’m not an expert, but hey since this is the internet I’m going to voice my opinion anyhow: it seems unnecessary to develop another manned fighter, when clearly the future is unmanned.

Are we the baddies?

Gonna be interesting how many of these 6th gen fighters countries will actually buy. For example, in the US, they are expected to cost around $300 million, which is immense.

For example, the flyaway cost of an F-35B these days is around $110 million and F-35As are 20% cheaper. If you would convert e.g. the UK buying 140 F-35s at an average flyaway cost of $100 million, that would roughly mean having 48 6th gen fighters that cost $300 million. Realistically, this would be even lower because of likely higher maintenance cost.

Now, subtract a few planes (say 3) to be focused on training and 70% readiness rates (which is about 20% higher than US F-35 readiness rates in 2023), and you have got around 30 operational 6th gen fighters at any point in time. That is absolutely a low density, high demand asset, which is an inherently large problem. Even if you lose only a couple due to combat, accidents, malfunctions, that is a massive big problem.

Granted, 6th gen fighters are gonna be significantly more advanced, more capable, and with loyal wingmen, but the numbers are still fairly low. And that holds for the UK, let alone smaller and / or poorer countries like Canada, Italy, and many more, their problem would be even larger.

Perhaps air forces are going to then look more like for example a mix between a small number of 6th gen fighters and significantly more heavily upgraded F-35s (or similar planes) that will actually form the bulk of the fighting capability.

Meanwhile FCAS is fucking dying because France and Germany, yet again, cannot agree for shit on shared weapons programs and Tempest will absolutely not let Germany in this time.