Please agree to our privacy policy to enable news listening. (Central News Agency reporter Chen Yunyu, London, March 3) The United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy signed a contract totaling 4.6 billion pounds (nearly NT$200 billion) today to invest in the “Global Combat Air Plan” (GCAP) to jointly develop and produce sixth-generation fighter aircraft. The British Ministry of Defense stated that the goal is to put the GCAP sixth-generation fighter into service in 2035. According to the Defense Investment Plan (DIP) released by the British government at the end of June, the UK plans to invest a total of 8.6 billion pounds in GCAP over the next four years. Under the GCAP structure, Britain, Japan, and Italy have each established a tripartite joint agency at the government and enterprise levels to coordinate and implement the plan. Today’s £4.6 billion is jointly funded by the governments of the UK, Japan and Italy, and is invested in Edgewing, a tripartite joint venture established in June last year by BAE Systems, Japan Aircraft Industry Promotion Corporation (JAIEC) and Italy’s Leonardo Group. BAE Systems, JAIEC and Leonardo are the leading GCAP implementation companies in the UK, Japan and Italy respectively. In addition to sixth-generation fighters, the UK plans to accelerate and expand the introduction of unmanned and autonomous systems to enhance the combat effectiveness and survivability of its air force and increase the cost-effectiveness of its military build-up. According to the DIP plan, the new generation of the British Air Force will use 4th, 5th and 6th generation fighters, as well as unmanned and autonomous systems, and strive to achieve the best balance between “quantity” and “quality” in terms of weapon configuration. According to DIP, the fourth-generation fighter aircraft “Typhoon” is expected to be in service until at least the 2040s after receiving an upgrade project worth more than 1.1 billion pounds. In terms of fifth-generation fighters, in addition to the existing F-35B, the F-35A, which can carry and deliver nuclear weapons, will also be put into service. Therefore, in addition to the sea-based nuclear deterrence based on submarines, the UK will regain its air-based nuclear strike capability that has been retired for many years after the Cold War. In addition, the British Air Force plans to launch the “Coordinated Combat Aircraft” (CCA) project, which is to build an unmanned autonomous fighter jet that can cooperate with a fighter aircraft carrying a pilot, and conduct the first technology verification flight demonstration before 2030. The CCA project will receive an initial investment of 300 million pounds. According to DIP, CCA unmanned combat aircraft will cooperate with British 4th and 5th generation fighters in the future. With the production of 6th generation fighters from GCAP, the British Air Force is expected to take the lead among European countries in putting 6th generation fighters into service. It is worth mentioning that GCAP’s sixth-generation fighter aircraft uses high technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) from the design stage, and DIP clearly pointed out that GCAP is building a transnational R&D and supply system for “military and civilian dual-use” technologies, and has always been open to new partners. This is similar to the “two-pillar” model of the Australia-UK-US Security Partnership (AUKUS). Under the AUKUS structure, the main plan (the first pillar) is to build a new type of nuclear-powered submarine, and the second pillar is to develop “military-civilian dual-use” high technology. The first pillar is limited to the three countries that signed the main agreement, namely Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The second pillar is open to other countries. For example, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have stated that they will give priority to the inclusion of Japan in the second pillar of AUKUS in individual projects. In addition to AUKUS, the British government mentioned in DIP that GCAP will also contribute to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. DIP emphasized that although the UK will still focus its defense deployment in Europe and the Atlantic and prioritize the needs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East are still very important to the UK. The UK intends to assist its allies and partners in the region to improve their security and defense capabilities through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. DIP reiterated that the UK intends to maintain a normal military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. (Editor: Xu Ruicheng) 1150704 Support the Central News Agency’s choice to stand with the facts. Every donation you make is a small amount of support to protect press freedom. Download the Central News Agency’s “First-hand News” APP to get the latest news in real time. The text, pictures and audio and video of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
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