UK Proposes Germany Join Joint Fighter Jet Development Project

Bloomberg News and other outlets reported on the 8th, local time, that the UK has proposed to Germany that it join a joint next-generation fighter jet development project.

Following a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin that day, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, "Germany is open to participating in GCAP (Global Combat Air Programme)," adding, "This is a matter we intend to advance together with our partners Italy and Germany."

GCAP is a fighter jet development project being pursued by the UK, Japan, and Italy with the goal of deployment by 2035.

Aside from the three countries, Canada decided to participate in an observer capacity last July, and Saudi Arabia is also known to be showing interest.

Germany originally planned to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet to replace the Eurofighter with France and Spain under the name Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

However, the project collapsed after disputes with the French side over project shares and specifications.

Since then, alternatives have been proposed in Germany, such as joining GCAP or cooperating with Swedish defense company Saab, which independently produces Gripen fighter jets.

Analysts suggest that Germany is a suitable GCAP partner, given that it already has experience jointly developing the Eurofighter with the UK and Italy in the 1980s and 1990s, and is pouring massive defense budgets into the sector recently to share costs.

During their meeting that day, the leaders of the two countries exchanged instruments of ratification for the Kensington Agreement signed last July and agreed to jointly respond to growing hybrid threats.

The Kensington Agreement covers cooperation in defense, the defense industry, and security fields—such as the joint development of long-range precision strike weapons—as well as responding to illegal immigration and increasing exchanges in science and technology.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.