Britain, Japan and Italy signed an international treaty in Tokyo to formally cooperate on the development of a new supersonic aircraft, marking an important step towards reality for the sixth-generation fighter jet commonly known as the Tornado.The new agreement, which formally combines the UK's Buran program and Japan's Mitsubishi F-X program with partner Italy into one enterprise, is the culmination of a complex combination of international diplomacy and cutting-edge technology.
Buran was originally conceived in 2015 as the UK's response to being shut out of the French and German sixth-generation Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, aiming to maintain the independence of UK defense and the dominance of its aerospace industry. Meanwhile, Japan's Mitsubishi F-X is a direct response to the United States' decision to refuse to provide F-22 exports, forcing Japan to seek its own stealth air superiority fighter.
In addition to this, deteriorating global stability and increasingly unfriendly behavior by countries such as Russia have shifted the focus to strengthening the Indo-Pacific region, leading Japan and the United Kingdom to seek closer cooperation in the security field.
In December 2022, the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy decided to go all out and pool resources to launch a sixth-generation fighter jet before 2035. The partnership, now known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), will be based in the UK, with each partner country sending a CEO on a rotating basis, starting with Japan.
The UK side will be led by BAE Systems, which develops the airframe; Rolls-Royce, which manufactures advanced jet engines and electrical systems; Leonardo UK, which provides avionics and radar; and MBDA UK, which is responsible for weapons and equipment. At the same time, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI will provide additional engine technology, and Mitsubishi Electric will provide advanced electronic equipment. Italian companies Leonardo SpA and AvioAero will provide the engines, and MBDAIT will help develop the missile system.
As a sixth-generation fighter, the new aircraft will have a series of new technologies and can integrate new weapons that current fighters do not have, including hypersonic missiles.
Rolls-Royce's engines will generate more electricity than today's engines, which will enable new fighter jets to use lasers and other directed-energy weapons. In addition, the new fighter jet will feature an augmented reality cockpit, with most physical displays replaced by virtual displays projected onto the pilot's visor. Not only would this make the cockpit cleaner and lighter, it would also allow controls to be reconfigured for specific missions and place controls and displays on non-traditional surfaces such as pilots' flight suits.
Advanced computer systems will play an important role. Pilots will be equipped with comprehensive biometric and psychometric sensors. This would enable computers to monitor a pilot's health, detecting not only signs of injury or lack of oxygen, but also stress, confusion and cognitive overload.
The aircraft will also be highly autonomous, performing most conventional functions, allowing pilots to act more as mission commanders, overseeing accompanying swarms of drones and seeking to resupply munitions and other assets. In addition, the amount of data processed by the radar system will be 10,000 times that of the existing system, and the amount of data processed per second is equivalent to the entire Internet traffic of a city the size of Edinburgh.
The UK Defense Secretary said: "Our world-leading fighter program is designed to play a key role in global security and we continue to make huge positive progress towards our goal of delivering a new jet fighter to our respective air forces by 2035. Being based in the UK will also see us working with close partners Italy and Japan and our impressive defense industry to jointly make important decisions and accelerate the pace to deliver outstanding aircraft."