According to a news report from the Nikkei, Japan, Britain and Italy are considering bringing Canada into their next-generation fighter jet program as an observer, a status that would give Ottawa access to confidential development data.
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Hunini, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
That program, the Global Combat Aviation Program (GCAP), is jointly run by Japan, the UK and Italy, with a target of fielding a mass-produced fighter by 2035. An intergovernmental body called the GCAP International Government Organization oversees the effort.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to confirm the move at a UK-hosted meeting of GCAP defense ministers later this month, alongside his visit to the Farnborough International Airshow. Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty has said his country welcomes closer cooperation with the program.
Observer status would allow Canada to monitor the aircraft’s progress before deciding later whether to acquire it. Australia and Singapore have also expressed interest in GCAP, Ryota Ogata wrote in the news report.
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