“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.
“The [collaboration] agreement reflects positive momentum and strong trilateral cooperation, and will involve the industry partners maturing integration, collaboration and sharing of information towards the next phase of GCAP,” the companies said.
Midsized companies can offer flexibility and agility while keeping intellectual property in the hands of the government.
“More than half the things this aircraft can do is because of its sensors,” said Masahiko Arai, Senior General Manager, Defense Systems Division, Mitsubishi Electric.
"We are talking to potential partners in Australia and are excited to see their space industry continue to grow," an Astroscale spokesperson said.