Edgewing Receives $6.1 Billion for GCAP Future Fighter Development | Aviation International News

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Edgewing Gets $6.1 Billion for GCAP Fighter Development

Tri-national consortium awarded fresh funding following publication of UK Defense Investment Plan

GCAP Tempest aircraft concept in flight — A digital rendering of GCAP’s future crewed fighter concept, designed with stealth capabilities in mind © BAE Systems

By Charlotte Bailey • News Reporter

July 8, 2026

The tri-national Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) endeavor between Italy, Japan and the UK has received £4.6 billion ($6.1 billion) to progress the assessment and development of a future fighter concept. A contract signed with the project's prime contractor and design authority Edgewing on July 3 came just days after the UK’s much-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), apparently enabling the deal, was finally published.

According to Edgewing, the new 18-month contract will “enable completion of the advanced concept and assessment phase of the program, and further joint detailed design and development.” At the core of the so-called “system of systems” program will be a crewed fighter, slated to enter service in 2035, which the UK government said “will work alongside [Eurofighter] Typhoons, [Lockheed Martin] F-35s and autonomous systems as part of a next-generation Royal Air Force.”

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