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Canadian Defence Minister Discusses Possible GCAP Fighter Partnership With Japan
David McGuinty met Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi in Tokyo on June 24 and reviewed the Global Combat Air Program. He called the project promising and said he would bring details back for further Canadian review.
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Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty discussed the Global Combat Air Program with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi during a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. McGuinty said Thursday that he viewed the initiative as a promising project. He stated he would take the information back to his team for additional review.
Japan, Britain and Italy launched GCAP in 2022. The program aims to field a next-generation stealth fighter by 2035 under the leadership of BAE Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Leonardo. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said this month that new partners willing to share development costs would be welcome.
Officials in Rome and executives at Leonardo have identified Canada, Saudi Arabia and Germany as possible future participants or observers. Any expansion of the program requires agreement from the three founding members. GCAP is one of two major Western sixth-generation fighter efforts, alongside the U.S.
Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program. A rival European project involving France, Germany and Spain collapsed after a dispute between Airbus and Dassault Aviation.
