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EU approves British, Italian, Japanese joint venture for combat aircraft
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 2, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 2, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
The EU has approved a joint venture between UK, Italy, and Japan to develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft, enhancing defense collaboration.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union said on Monday it had approved a joint venture between BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited, Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd and Leonardo S.p.A., which will be the prime contractor and lead systems integrator for the Global Combat Air Programme.
The joint venture will develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft for use by the governments of Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan, with the potential for other sales to other jurisdictions or government buyers in the future, the European Commission said.
The companies have said they would each hold a 33.3% share and that the new firm would be headquartered in Britain and its first CEO would be from Italy.
Separately, France, Germany and Spain are working on their own next-generation fighter project, raising concerns from some in the industry who wonder if Europe can sustain two decades-long programmes.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The joint venture involves BAE Systems, Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd, and Leonardo S.p.A.
The joint venture aims to develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft for the governments of Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
The new firm will be headquartered in Britain, with its first CEO coming from Italy.
There are concerns in the industry about whether Europe can sustain two competing next-generation fighter projects, as France, Germany, and Spain are also working on their own.
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