TOKYO (Reuters) – Britain and Italy’s defence chiefs will visit Japan this week to hold meetings with their local counterpart, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, Japan said on Tuesday.
The three nations announced in December the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) venture to develop by 2035 a next-generation jet which would combine the British-led Tempest project with Japan’s F-X programme.
Hamada will host a trilateral meeting with British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on Thursday, Japan’s defence ministry said. He will also hold bilateral meetings with them.
The three nations will discuss the jet fighter project, which marks Japan’s first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two.
The trilateral partnership came together last year as France, Germany and Spain moved forward with a rival plan to build a warplane in a broad European bid to strengthen security against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
