Edgewing joint venture company launched to develop GCAP

Edgewing brings together BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd to design and develop the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) next-generation combat aircraft. (BAE Systems)

Industry partners of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) have launched a new joint venture company named Edgewing to develop the next-generation manned combat aircraft.

Edgewing will bring “BAE Systems in the United Kingdom, Leonardo in Italy, and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC) in Japan” together to develop the GCAP, the three companies said in a joint statement on 20 June.

The “newly formed entity will play a central role” in achieving the programme's core objectives, the statement added. “This includes the in-service date of 2035 for the aircraft while setting a new benchmark for trilateral industrial partnership across Europe and Asia.”

The launch of Edgewing comes six months after the three industry partners reached an agreement in December 2024 to form a new company under a business joint venture for the GCAP.

In the recent joint statement, the three partners said Edgewing “will be accountable for the design and development” of the GCAP and “will remain the design authority for the life of the product, which is expected to go out beyond 2070”.

Marco Zoff will be the first CEO of Edgewing. Formerly the managing director of Leonardo Aircraft Division, Zoff brings “extensive leadership experience in international aerospace collaboration and innovation”, the joint statement said.

According to Zoff, Edgewing will allow the aircraft programme to unite the “strengths” of the personnel involved in the programme across the UK, Italy, and Japan. “Together, we will push boundaries, embrace agility, [and] enhance our national supply chains,” he said.