After years of squabbles over the development of the sixth-gen fighter jet, the centerpiece of the projected $115 billion effort, Berlin said the companies involved “cannot reach an agreement.”
The defense boss highlighted that revenues reached €4.5 billion in the first three months of the year — a 7 percent increase over 2025 — with a total backlog reaching €57 billion.
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The new funding invests in "key design and engineering activities and enables the trilateral partnership to build momentum and accelerate pace of delivery."
One defense analyst said that at this stage, it may be difficult for either the GCAP or FCAS teams to take on new development partners.
A key meeting on the future fighter has been "postponed," a German official told Breaking Defense, as analysts weigh what's next.
Despite the current drama in the rival FCAS program, Leonardo UK's Andrew Howard said he expects FCAS to deliver a "very good capability."
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An artist rendering of the demonstrator, set to fly for the first time in 2027, showcases a design complete with a single cockpit, twin engine, canted twin tail and delta wing blueprint.
The naming of the JV arrives 12 months after industry showcased a new concept of the future fighter designed around a conventional delta wing shape, giving increased wingspan compared to previous iterations.
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“We expect to receive our first international contract this year against relatively stable, high level requirements, which is what's required to disaggregate the work allocation," Andrew Howard, director for Future Combat Air at Leonardo UK, told Breaking Defense.
Absolute positioning is critical in contested and denied environments.
Execs and officials hope that GCAP can open doors for Japan's defense industrial base to expand.
"There's [got] to be one European sixth-generation fighter jet, and then we can sell it to all the world. [That's] not the way we're doing it for the moment, and it's very frustrating," Minister Theo Francken said.
The Royal Air Force said in a statement, “In a world of increasing threat to the UK and our NATO allies, StormShroud will serve as a powerful deterrent to potential aggressors.”
To deal with the changing geopolitical landscape, Cingolani called for "stronger alliances" and "industrial synergies."