Germany and Australia May Join GCAP Jet Programme

ROME, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Italy's defence minister on Thursday said other countries, including Germany and Australia, may be interested in entering the GCAP fighter jet programme in the future, with requests also coming from Saudi Arabia and Canada.

The GCAP, which currently involves Italy, Britain and Japan, is an effort to build a next-generation fighter by 2035 and is being led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, BAE Systems in Britain and Leonardo in Italy.

"Germany could probably join this project in the future," Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told a parliamentary hearing.

Germany is part of the 100-billion-euro ($117 billion) Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, which includes France and Spain and has been mired in disputes between the companies involved over workshare and prized technology.

"We are creating the conditions to ensure that every country that wants to join this programme knows what path to follow," Crosetto told lawmakers, adding he believed "Australia may also be interested" in joining the GCAP venture.

The project envisions stealth fighters operating in tandem with drones, and Crosetto stressed that the three founding nations had agreed to cooperate on equal terms.

"The more countries join, the greater the critical mass you can invest in, the more brain power you can bring together, the greater the economic return, and the less it costs us," the minister said.

($1 = 0.8566 euros)

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Giulia Segreti and Kate Mayberry)