Governments award Edgewing first GCAP contract

An artist's rendering of the GCAP future fighter being developed by Italy, Japan, and the UK. The Edgewing industrial consortium received its first governmental contract on 2 April 2026. (Edgewing)

The national governments behind the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) have awarded the first contract to the Edgewing industrial consortium responsible for delivering the trilateral project.

Announced by Edgewing on 2 April, the GBP686 million (USD907 million) award was granted by the GCAP Agency that is part of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) co-ordinating body for the future fighter programme that comprises Italy, Japan, and the UK.

The award covers key design and engineering activities, and is intended to enable the trilateral partnership to build momentum and accelerate the pace of delivery. “This contract is an important moment for GCAP, as activities previously conducted under three nations' contracts will now be carried out as part of a fully-fledged international programme,” Masami Oka, GCAP Agency Chief Executive, said.

GCAP is a collaborative effort geared at fielding a ‘sixth-generation' combat aircraft for the mid-2030s, with associated unmanned ‘loyal wingmen' and other adjuncts to be developed at a national level.

With the current design phases locked into the three partners, officials have said that there are future opportunities for other countries to join in differing capacities. “All three GCAP nations have highlighted an openness to working with other nations while keeping us on track with the programme schedule and helping us deliver our future military capabilities,” the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in 2025.

While no further countries have yet committed to future participation, interest has been reported from Canada, India, Poland, and Saudi Arabia, among others.

For more, please see Partners working to finalise GCAP full design and development contract