ANALYSIS – Back in 2018, the U.K. announced the development of a new sixth-generation fighter called “Tempest” that will eventually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon and could be flying by 2035.
Tempest was created to develop a radically new fighter that will use artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to assist pilots. (RELATED: Bye ‘Maverick' – Air Force Preparing For AI ‘Terminator' Jet Fighters)
Italy later joined the multi-billion-dollar program, while France, Germany and Spain are working on the rival stealth Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project to replace France's Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighters.
Britain and Italy have been developing the Tempest warplane to compete with France, Germany and the FCAS program.
As Defense News reported at the time:
The British future combat air strategy envisaged a Tempest a program combining a core aircraft at the heart of a network of wider capabilities, such as uncrewed aircraft, sensors, weapons and advanced data systems. That's unlikely to change.
“We share ambition for this aircraft to be the centerpiece of a wider combat air system that will function across multiple domains,” said the GCAP statement.
In December 2022, Japan joined Tempest, also known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). Previously, Japan had been pursuing its own home-made next-generation F-X stealth fighter program.
The new three-way defense collaboration will merge Japan's F-X project with the U.K. and Italy's Tempest.
In the wake of Japan's Tempest announcement, the Franco-German-Spanish program took a major step forward after a long hiatus, with Berlin and Paris reaching an industrial and political agreement on how to move forward with a demonstrator aircraft.
Meanwhile, joining a major defense development project with a partner other than the U.S. is a break with tradition for Japan, which is in the process of bolstering its military budget and upgrading its national security strategy after being spooked by Russia's attack on Ukraine and China's growing military belligerence around Japanese waters.
It will also reinforce Tokyo's determination to forge deeper security ties with a range of allies to prepare for the possibility of a war with China over Taiwan.
GCAP will be the biggest Japanese-European defense cooperation program ever undertaken.
This week, in another big break from the past, Japan's cabinet approved the export of the new fighters it is developing with the UK and Italy, in the latest move away from its post-WWII pacifist policies. (RELATED: With US Help, Japan Gearing Up For War With China, Russia, North Korea)
It eased arms export rules to allow the jets to be sold to countries that Japan has signed defense pacts with, and where there is no ongoing conflict. Japan has pledged to double military spending by 2027, citing threats posed by China and North Korea.
Each fighter jet sale will require cabinet approval, authorities said. Of course, the U.S. and Russia are also developing their own sixth-generation of jet fighters.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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