Britain, Italy and Japan have awarded a £4.6 billion contract to Edgewing, the joint venture prime contractor for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), to progress the next phase of the tri-nation effort to develop a next-generation stealth fighter.

The UK government said the contract advances GCAP after delays tied to pressures on the UK defence budget. As part of broader funding for the programme, Britain has committed £8.6 billion over four years to GCAP, covering its share of the tri-national investment.

BAE Systems, Leonardo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are the key industrial partners in the programme: BAE in Britain, Leonardo in Italy, and Mitsubishi in Japan. Edgewing—jointly owned by those companies—acts as the overall contractor and design authority, with programme governance centered in the UK.

GCAP, known as Tempest in the UK, is intended to deliver a sixth-generation stealth fighter with the partners aiming for an operational delivery milestone in 2035. The programme is also designed to share development and production costs among the partner nations, and officials have indicated the project could be opened to additional international partners in the future, depending on agreement among the founding members.