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is expected to go out beyond 2070. (MoD), GCAP must deliver military are working together on a number
“The new business will bring advantage against rapidly increas- of projects with Elettronica in Italy
together the significant strengths ing and proliferating threats. “This including joint assessment of
and expertise of the companies requires a solution that builds on potential architecture of a common
involved to create an innovative our extensive design and oper- Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic
organisation that will lead the way ational experience in 4th and Effects (ISANKE) and Integrated
in developing a next generation 5th Generation combat air and Communications System. MBDA
combat air system, creating long- exploits technology to achieve is working on a weapon effects
term, high value and skilled jobs and retain advantage decades management system, to aid the
across the partner nations for into the future. The GCAP core coordination of all available weap-
decades to come,” said Charles platform will sit at the heart of the ons in the battle space using
Woodburn, BAE Systems Chief UK’s Future Combat Air System, Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Executive. The will undertake the designed from the outset to inte- Learning enhanced software.
design and development of the grate into wider military systems
GCAP aircraft and will subcontract across all domains, including The cost of developing a next-gen-
the manufacturing and final assem- each nation’s F-35 fleets, and with eration fighter aircraft will be
bly of the aircraft to BAE Systems, the flexibility to upgrade rapidly eye-watering. The UK MoD alone
Leonardo, Mitsubishi Heavy based on open architectures.” has committed £2 billion to GCAP
Industries and the wider supply Rolls-Royce Defence has already since 2021 and has budgeted over
chain. delivered a new gas turbine demon-
strator engine ‘Orpheus’, designed, £12 billion for the programme over
Kimito Nakae, President of JAIEC built and tested in under two years the next ten years. According to the
UK MoD, the eventual costs will
said: “As we now embark upon to prove innovative technology depend on “the solutions proposed,
the exciting and important jour- developments for FCAS. Rolls how efficient the international
ney towards the success of Royce and its international partners
GCAP, I acknowledge that the have also agreed the next stage of delivery model is, and our ability to
way might not always be simple the full-scale engine demonstrator deliver at pace”. Affordability is cru-
and straightforward.” He also programme. cial to the success of a programme
added, “however, I believe that of this scale and complexity, requir-
through continuing the strong BAE Systems is using digital ing significant and stable investment
spirit of trilateral cooperation and transformation to design and build from each of the partners.
collaboration that we have fos- a representative military fast jet
tered up to this point, we will not fuselage that will demonstrate how The programme has moved swiftly
only deliver the GCAP on time innovative technologies can trans- since announcement and from 2022
but also at a level that exceeds form the design and manufacturing to today, approximately 450 entities
all of our expectations.” The new capability for Tempest. Leonardo in the UK national supply chain with
joint venture will be headquar- UK and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric a workload of nearly €200 million
tered in the UK, along with the are working on a concept for a are focused on the research and
GCAP International Government radar technology demonstrator development phase. At the pres-
Organisation (GIGO). The first called JAGUAR, first unveiled in ent moment over 9,000 people are
GIGO Director General will be February 2022. working on the GCAP at sites world-
Japanese with OKA Masami being wide, including about 3,000 each in
the Japanese government’s nom- Leonardo in the UK and in Italy the UK and Italy respectively..
inee for the GCAP Agency Chief
Executive.
A New Way
GCAP is an initiative focused on
the design and development of
a ‘System of Systems’ based on
a primary aerial platform coop-
erating with both manned and
unmanned aircraft, with assets
operating in other domains and in
a multi-domain context, including
space and cyber dimensions. As
per the UK Ministry of Defence
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