Could Germany join GCAP? UK ‘seeks to progress’ the potential switch

BELFAST — The UK and Germany are working “to progress” the potential for Germany to join the UK-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), Prime Minister Andy Burnham said today, in what would be a major shake-up for the next-generation fighter effort.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to ratify a bilateral security and defense treaty, Burnham said he and Merz talked about the UK’s “openness” to Berlin joining GCAP.

“That is something that we seek to progress in in the coming period, working with our other partners, Italy and Japan, in relation to that as well,” he said.

Germany had joined with France and Spain on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a rival next-gen fighter program, but the effort collapsed this summer amid industrial disputes. At the time, German officials said they were weighing different paths forward, including a brand new project led by FCAS developer Airbus or joining GCAP.

At a political level, the latest interest in adding Germany to GCAP comes after Canada joined the program as an observer nation in July, allowing it to gain a working understanding of the high-profile effort. Observer status could also lead to Ottawa becoming a fully-fledged partner and contributing at an industrial level in the future.

Germany’s potential participation as a new partner has previously been welcomed, with some hesitation, by at least one GCAP industry partner.

Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said in July that he could see the benefit of Berlin joining but warned any major change risks “disruption.”

As Breaking Defense previously reported, he noted that Germany would make a “strong industrial partner,” but “another nation joining, another group of industries joining the program would risk [producing] some delays, while at the moment, on the contrary, we are fully committed to the 2035 [service entry] date.” 

The future fighter is slated to replace British and Italian Eurofighter Typhoons, as well as Japanese F-2 combat aircraft. It is also envisioned to fly alongside loyal wingmen drones, with support from a combat cloud communications network.