Japan, Britain and Italy formally signed an agreement on the joint development of a sixth-generation fighter.
According to the Global Times on December 16, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy signed an agreement on the 14th to jointly develop the next generation of stealth fighters. On the same day, British Defense Secretary Shapps, who is visiting Japan, announced that the British aircraft carrier strike group will visit Japan as part of the country's 2025 "Indo-Pacific" deployment flagship operation.
There is currently no accepted standard for the division of sixth-generation fighters.
The new machine is scheduled to be deployed in 2035.
According to reports, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara held talks with visiting British Defense Secretary Shapps and Italian Defense Minister Crosetto at the Ministry of Defense on the same day. The three parties signed an agreement on joint research and development of a new generation of fighters, starting the development phase in 2025 and aiming to start deployment by 2035. The three countries agreed to establish a trilateral organization responsible for cooperation with companies and export control, headquartered in the United Kingdom, with a Japanese expected to be the first leader. The agreement is subject to ratification by the parliaments of the three countries.
In December last year, Japan, Britain and Italy** announced that they would jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet, and the project was named the "Global Air Combat Program" (GCAP). According to the report, GCAP will combine the "Tempest" fighter project led by the United Kingdom with Japan's F-X fighter program to develop a sixth-generation fighter.
In July 2018, the United Kingdom displayed a full-scale model of its next-generation fighter jet, the Tempest, at the Farnndorf International Airshow, and announced that it would invest £2 billion in the development of the fighter between 2018 and 2025, with it expected to enter service as soon as 2035. According to the relevant information released at the air show, AI (artificial intelligence) and high informatization are the main technical highlights of the "Tempest" fighter, which can realize the coordinated operation of manned aircraft and UAVs.
Japan began to consider alternative models after the F-2 fighter was installed, and the development boom of stealth fighters prompted Japan to position alternative models as fighters with stealth capabilities - and finally put forward the F-X fighter plan, and in order to verify the key technology of stealth fighters, a "heart" stealth verification aircraft was also specially developed.
Japan's X-2 "Shinshin" technology demonstrator in its first flight.
According to the report, the "Global Air Combat Plan" (GCAP) plans to start deliveries to customers around 2035, Japan plans to deploy 100 of the new fighters in 2035 to replace the aging F-2 fighters scheduled to be retired in the same year, and the United Kingdom and Italy will replace the current "Typhoon" fighters with this new fighter.
It is worth mentioning that in July this year, Saudi Arabia expressed its desire to join the cooperation program of Japan, Britain and Italy in the joint development of fighter jets. Both the United Kingdom and Italy** have a positive attitude towards the Saudi request, but Japan** has expressed opposition. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Saudi Arabia in July and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, when the Saudis directly offered to join the Global Air Operations Initiative (GCAP). However, the Japanese side did not agree, fearing that the deployment of the sixth-generation fighter would be delayed due to the increase in the number of participating countries, and it would have an impact on export plans and the sharing of sensitive technical information.
According to reports, the pacifist constitution does not allow Japan to ** new fighters to objects other than the co-development countries, which could complicate the project, as Britain and Italy want to be able to**. Japan** has been trying to lift the ban through the working consultations of the ruling party, but the Komeito Party has maintained a cautious attitude and the time for reaching a conclusion has been postponed until next year.
A model of the "Tempest" fighter shown by the UK.
Performance may not be up to the level of a sixth-generation aircraft.
Since Japan, Britain and Italy have only successfully developed non-stealthy fighters, and directly skipped the fifth-generation fighter (which China currently classifies as a first-generation fighter) to develop a sixth-generation fighter, the outside world still has some doubts about whether the "Global Air Combat Plan" (GCAP) can be completed on time and meet the sixth-generation standard.
There have been many cases of successful joint development of fighter planes in history, such as Britain and France, which have successfully developed the "Jaguar" attack aircraft, and Britain, Germany, and Italy have cooperated in the development of the "Tornado" variable sweep wing fighter and the "Typhoon" fighter with four and a half generations. For example, France participated in the "Typhoon" fighter program, but because of differences in technology and requirements, France finally withdrew from the program and developed a new "Rafale" fighter.
In order to improve the success rate of joint development, it is key to seek the greatest common divisor between the two parties, if some key issues are not agreed, the project will eventually fail or the product developed will be lower than the initial technical goals. Military expert Han Dong said.
The ultimate goal of the Global Air Operations Program (GCAP) is to develop a sixth-generation fighter. Zhang Xuefeng, a military expert, told The Paper that there is currently no recognized standard for the classification of sixth-generation fighters, and there is no universally recognized standard for what capabilities are required in the industry.
For example, many people know that the fifth-generation fighter has a generally recognized '4S' standard - stealth, super-maneuverable, over-the-horizon attack and supersonic cruise, among which, stealth, super-maneuverability and over-the-horizon attack are the most critical. Han Dong said.
In terms of sixth-generation fighters, in May this year, the U.S. Air Force announced that the U.S. Department of the Air Force issued a confidential tender document to the industry, widely soliciting "Next Generation Air Domination" (NGAD) platform proposals, and clearly stated that it plans to formally award the Engineering and Development (EMD) contract in 2024.
In the future, the sixth-generation fighter is likely to operate in deep joint operations with the "loyal wingman" UAV.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall pointed out that the NGAD platform is a key component of the "Air Domination" system cluster (FOS), compared with the F-22 fighter it plans to replace, it will achieve a cross-generational leap in technology, the NGAD platform has both air and ground attack capabilities, will enhance lethality, long-range capabilities, battlefield survivability, equipment interoperability and environmental adaptability, so as to meet the needs of high-intensity confrontation combat environment.
The U.S. Air Force has repeatedly said that its NGAD platform is not like a traditional manned fighter such as the F-22 or F-35, but rather a "system cluster" that includes manned fighters and cooperative combat aircraft, and that enhanced sensor capabilities and advanced capabilities linked to satellites, other aircraft or other platforms could also be part of the NGAD "system cluster."
France, Germany and Spain are also jointly developing the next generation of fighter jets, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project. According to the plan, the FCAS project will use cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis, cryptographic components and human-computer interaction, and the research and development results will be published from 2025. According to reports, the "unmanned long-range delivery vehicle" is also an important sub-project of the FCAS project, which can work closely with manned aircraft to assist pilots in performing tasks.
At present, there is no universal standard for sixth-generation fighters with a high degree of recognition, but better stealth performance, the ability to work with drones, and the ability to equip with AI technology are generally considered to be the capabilities that should be possessed. Han Dong said, "Japan, Britain and Italy in the case of unsuccessful development of non-stealth fighters, directly skip the fifth generation fighter to develop the sixth generation fighter, the technical risk still exists, the future may be delayed in the project or the product can only reach the level of the improved fifth generation fighter." ”
Zhang Xuefeng also believes that the comprehensive performance of the next-generation fighter developed by Japan, Britain, and Italy may only reach the level of five and a half generations.
*: The Paper reporter Xie Ruiqiang.