GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAMME INDUSTRY PARTNERS AGREE NEXT STEPS ON COLLABORATION TO DELIVER NEXT GENERATION COMBAT AIRCRAFT

Herman Claesen, Managing Director, Future Combat Air Systems, BAE Systems, said:
"We have maintained a high tempo of engagement with our industrial and government partners in Italy and Japan since the launch of GCAP. The Collaboration Agreement signals the strong alignment across all three nations to meet common goals and objectives on the programme to deliver a truly international, next generation combat aircraft."

Hitoshi Shiraishi, Senior Fellow, GCAP, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said:
"We are truly honoured to be part of GCAP and will bring all of our considerable knowledge accumulated through previous programmes to the table. The Collaboration Agreement is one of the key steps to ensure our mutual success. We have already started cooperating closely with our UK and Italian partners and believe that our mix of cultures and diverse perspectives will contribute to the success of this programme."

Guglielmo Maviglia, Director GCAP Programme, Leonardo SpA, said:
"This trilateral collaboration on the programme, for the development of a next generation system, represents the flagship of the distinctive capabilities and disruptive technologies that the partners of the three nations will share, in an innovative way, for the success of the programme. Participation in DSEI London fits perfectly into our progress of the collaboration and consolidates more than ever the strong ties created between the partner companies of Italy, the UK, and Japan. In this context, we are particularly proud to be able to contribute to the future and the prosperity of the generations to come with significant implications for security and technological development, as well as in the field of research and innovation in the aerospace and defence sectors."

GCAP is a hugely significant programme for the security, political and economic prosperity of each nation and through effective knowledge and technology transfer will help to evolve and deliver important sovereign combat air capability in each nation for generations to come.

Notes to editors
The three nations of GCAP will be coming together for the first time in the UK at DSEI London (stand B7) to showcase the progress being made on this international endeavour.

ENDS