GCAP timeline could shrink ‘by a couple of years,’ Leonardo CEO says

MILAN — The entry into service of the Global Combat Air Programme’s sixth-generation fighter jet could be fast-tracked “by a couple of years” ahead of the targeted 2035 timeline, the CEO of Italian defense firm Leonardo said today.

“It’s true that there is quite a strong push to bring forward the first entry into service of GCAP that was initially stated — that [is] still stated 2035 — closer by a couple of years,” Lorenzo Mariani said during an investor call. “This is something that has been said in meetings by the ministers and has been motivated correctly, in my view, by the urgency of having such a multi-domain system starting to operate as quickly as possible, as early as possible.”

As for whether it was really “feasible,” Mariani said it would require “probably modulating the requirements that this initial version would fulfill.”

“It’s always possible to be progressively meeting the final requirement, as it has always been the case in such complex programs,” he said.

Mariani did not specify which requirements could be sacrificed, but bringing GCAP forward to 2033 would undoubtedly mean significantly accelerating the testing and production phases of the sixth-generation fighter. Leonardo, Britain’s BAE Systems, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. lead the Edgewing industrial consortium that heads development for GCAP.

Mariani had previously made similar comments at the Farnborough Airshow last week, saying that there had been “a request to push, to even anticipate that [2035] date,” according to Reuters.

The news outlet reported that Japan, in particular, is keen to get the aircraft in service by at least 2035, as that’s around the time it plans to retire its F-2 fighter jets.

Mariani’s comments come days after the GCAP program expanded by adding Canada as an observer. Janes, citing an anonymous source, reported on Tuesday that Singapore has expressed interest in joining the program.

At the Farnborough trade show, Mariani confirmed that Saudi Arabia likewise still has an interest in GCAP, more than two years after Riyadh expressed ambition to be involved.

When asked by Reuters at Farnborough about a cutoff point for other states to join, Mariani said that his personal opinion was “maximum one year from now,” or 2027.