Edgewing has been awarded a £4.6 billion (US$6.1 billion) contract to move the UK, Italy and Japan’s Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) into its next major design and testing phase, ahead of a demonstrator aircraft that is due to fly before the end of 2027.
The contract was signed on 3 July 2026 and awarded through the managing GCAP Agency to Edgewing, the industry joint venture set up to act as prime contractor and design authority for the sixth-generation combat aircraft. Jointly funded by the three partner nations, the 18-month contract runs to 31 December 2027 and follows an initial £686 million (US$914 million) contract placed in April 2026.
The funding will advance the next stage of the aircraft’s design by establishing its key requirements and progressing what the UK Ministry of Defence described as “rigorous testing”, carrying the programme through the advanced concept, assessment and detailed design work needed before full-scale development.
Much of that effort is a test and evaluation task. BAE Systems has already tested scale models of the design in its wind tunnels at Warton, Lancashire, while a modified Boeing 757, the Excalibur flight test aircraft, is flying as a testbed for the integrated sensing and communications systems intended for the fighter. The crewed combat air flying demonstrator being built in the UK remains on schedule for a first flight in 2027.
For the UK, the contract lands just days after the Defence Investment Plan, published on 30 June, confirmed £8.6 billion (US$10.8 billion) of funding for GCAP over four years. The same plan committed more than £1.1 billion to sustain the RAF’s Typhoon force into the 2040s, £2.2 billion (US$2.9 billion) for additional F-35s and £300 million to begin developing a new UK autonomous combat aircraft.
Edgewing brings together BAE Systems in the UK, Leonardo in Italy and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd. Headquartered in Reading and formally named in June 2025, it was created as the single engineering prime working to one empowered customer in the GCAP Agency, a structure the partners have promoted as a new model for multinational defence collaboration. It builds on the trilateral agreement the three nations reached to take the Tempest fighter forward.
Marco Zoff, CEO of Edgewing, said the award “represents the trust placed in us by all three nations and our GCAP Agency partners, trust fostered by the rapid progress made under the first international contract.”
Masami Oka, chief executive of the GCAP Agency, said that with the long-term funding in place “the future of GCAP has never been more assured.”
Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, called the contract “a major step forward towards delivery”. The MoD said GCAP and the UK’s future combat air system already support 4,500 jobs across a supply chain of around 600 organisations. The aircraft is intended to enter service from 2035, operating alongside Typhoon, F-35 and autonomous systems.
