Minister Crosetto in Tokyo for the signing of the GCAP Agreement

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Today Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and UK Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps met in Tokyo for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)Trilateral Defence Ministerial. On this occasion, the three ministers signed the Treaty for the establishment of the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO).

“For Italy , and I think for all of us, to be here today represents a highly important achievement for the GCAP programme, while sending out a very strong message, because our partnership is a message for the rest of the world.”, Minister Crosetto said at the beginning of the trilateral meeting. “We find ourselves in a very complex era characterized by the presence of very aggressive players on the international scenario - Minister Crosetto continued- amidst growing instability, interstate competition and rapid technological changes. It therefore became of vital importance to stay ahead of growing threats that emerge day by day. Our threat nations enjoy longstanding solid relations, based on shared values of democracy, freedom, respect of human rights and the rule of law. Through the GCAP we can develop our relations even further while strengthening them in the defence sector.

Following progress made from the announcement of the first Joint Declaration signed by the three Prime Ministers in December 2022, and the launch of the Global Combat Air Programme(GCAP), today the three ministers have agreed that the next activities aimed to define the implementing agreements of the future GIGOand the related industrial construct will take place in a spirit of equal partnership. The GCAP programme aims not only to produce a sixth generation fighter aircraft by 2035, but also to further enhance the industrial base of each of the three countries. The ministers have expressed their satisfaction with progress made by the industrial partners in establishing the delivery construct which will represent the industrial interface of the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO)which will support a programme able to produce cutting edge, sustainable capabilities and technology.

The three ministers agreed that the GIGO headquarters and the relevant Joint Venture Structure will be located in the UK and, in order to guarantee an effective, well balanced partnership among the three countries, the first General Director of the GCAP Agency will be of Japanese nationality, and the first Chief Executive Officer of the industrial Joint Venture will be of Italian nationality.

The Italian, Japanese and UK leaders have thus confirmed their strong commitment to deepen trilateral cooperation on the GCAP common objectives while guaranteeing its constant success. The signing of the Treaty testifies to the steps forward made within an initiative poised to be a breakthrough for the international defence sector through a new cooperation model that sees industries working jointly to develop capabilities and technologies impossible to produce for any single country. Through the GCAP Italy will play a protagonist role in the Air Combat sector by securing:

⁃ Operational advantage to tackle challenges emerging from new scenarios by developing a new system of systems, a combination of highly connected manned and unmanned aircraft with a variable number of other assets aimed to increase their capabilities.

 ⁃ Technological and industrial sovereignty. GCAP joint conceptualization, design and production will guarantee that Italy maintains its engineering capabilities to design and develop new generation air combat systems and an appropriate level of national sovereignty.

 ⁃ Prosperity. At the industrial level, in Italy the programme is led by Leonardo IT, which avails itself of the collaboration of MBDA IT, Elettronica and Avio Aero, aiming to establish a cooperation process which will join, besides leading industries, smalla and medium enterprises, research centers and academia, thus shaping a network of competencies able to establish a system of national excellencies active in both the industrial and academic sectors. The GCAP will produce innovative technologies with significant returns in terms of jobs, competencies and know-how across the entire national industrial system.