Leonardo, Bae Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries accelerate on Gcap
The Italian Leonardo, the English Bae Systems and the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have defined the terms of the collaboration for the new generation air defense system within the Global Combat Air Program (Gcap). All the details
Step forward for Leonardo, Bae Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on the Global Combat Air Program (Gcap), the program of the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan for the development of a sixth generation combat aircraft remains set for 2035.
Defense industry leaders in the UK, Japan and Italy have finalized the terms of trilateral collaboration to meet the requirements of the conceptual phase of the next generation air defense system under the GCAP. This is what we read in a joint note from Leonardo (Italy), Bae Systems (United Kingdom) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan).
The agreement with which the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan agreed to unify their respective projects for the development of fifth generation combat aircraft was signed last December . The agreement effectively combined the Tempest project – a British-led project in which our country participates to replace the Typhoon fighters – with the Japanese FX program in an undertaking called the Global Combat Air Program (Gcap), relating to the development of a of next-generation systems and multi-domain operations.
The three countries will meet for the first time in the UK at the DSEI in London to showcase the progress made in this international commitment, the statement said.
As the trinational Gcap program accelerates, partners Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom are planning to define the sensor hardware to be mounted on board the fighter by mid-2025 and to form a new industrial joint venture to share the work, Andrew Howard, Director Future Combat Air/GCAP UK at Leonardo UK, told Defense News .
All the details.
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BAE SYSTEMS, LEONARDO AND MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES
“The agreement between BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo SpA (Italy) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) reflects the strong cooperation between the three countries involved and represents an important driver for industrial partners towards integration, collaboration and sharing information for the next phase of the Global Combat Air Program” indicates the joint note.
“We have maintained a high pace of engagement with our industry and government partners in Italy and Japan since the launch of Gcap. The collaboration agreement represents the strong alignment between all three nations to achieve common goals and objectives for an international next-generation air defense system,” commented Herman Claesen, Managing Director, Future Combat Air Systems, BAE Systems.
“We are truly honored to be part of Gcap and will make available all of our considerable knowledge gained through previous programs. The collaboration agreement is one of the key steps to ensure our mutual success. We have already started to collaborate closely with our UK and Italian partners and believe that our mix of different cultures and perspectives will contribute to the success of this programme,” added Hitoshi Shiraishi, Senior Fellow, GCAP, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
THE STRATEGY OF THE EX FINMECCANICA GROUP
For Leonardo "this trilateral collaboration for the development of a new generation air defense system represents the flagship of the distinctive capabilities and disruptive technologies that the partners of the three nations will share for the success of the program".
“Participation in the DSEI in London fits perfectly into the framework of the program's advancement and consolidates the strong ties created between partner companies from Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan. In this context, we are particularly proud to be able to contribute to the future and prosperity of generations to come with significant implications in the field of security and technological development, as well as in the field of research and innovation in the aerospace and defense sectors" declared Guglielmo Maviglia , Director Gcap Program for the Piazza Monte Grappa company.
WORKING ON THE SENSOR SUITE
Meanwhile Andrew Howard, Director Future Combat Air/GCAP UK at Leonardo UK explained to Defense News that, “worth up to 30% of the value of the planned sixth generation fighter, radar and other sensors are a key element of the aircraft, which the partners hope to put into service by 2035”.
With an eye on that deadline, companies working on sensor technology – Leonardo UK, Leonardo Italia, Italian group ELT and Japan's Mitsubishi Electric – are now working towards a key target two years away.
“We are confident we can freeze the hardware and form a joint venture to allocate work sharing by mid-2025,” Howard said adding that “a further objective is to agree with the fighter propulsion team – Rolls Royce , the Japanese IHI and the Italian Avio – the amount of energy needed by the sensor suite”.
THE ISANKE &ICS SYSTEM
The overall system, called ISANKE & ICS (Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects & Integrated Communications System), will include a radar touted as a step up from the ECRS Mk2 that Leonardo UK has been working on for the Eurofighter Typhoon, Defense News points out .
“The 'Isanke' solution will constantly change to meet the threat and, while there will clearly be periodic baseline standards to work towards, I don't think there will be a point where we say that's it, that we've reached capability,” he said. explained the manager of Leonardo UK. Howard said he anticipated that Japan and Italy could use their own test aircraft, similar to the 757 that Leonardo UK is now using to test flight sensors, to refine the use of their sensors in service beyond the development.
This would distinguish the Gcap from fifth-generation F-35 fighters, used by the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy, Defense News further highlights.
“The F-35 is an aircraft that you have limited control over in terms of the data and how it operates,” Howard explained. With GCAP, he added, the air force “will have access to information to modify aircraft, upload mission data and understand and interpret data without resorting to another nation, so that they have true freedom of action, and the vast majority of this data will be unlocked by Isanke.”
AT WHAT POINT IS SAUDI ARABIA'S REQUEST TO JOIN THE GCAP PROJECT
Finally, the collaboration agreement signed by Leonardo, Bae Systems and MHI "frames the ongoing discussions to define the long-term conditions, capabilities and requirements for the development of a new generation defense system" concluded the joint note.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also aiming to get on board the Gcap project . Crown Prince and de facto leader Mohammed Bin Salman has called on the UK, Japan and Italy to become full partners in a joint program to build the next generation of fighter jets, in a move supported by the British government.
As first reported by the Financial Times in mid-August, Riyadh's request was confirmed by numerous senior officials from all three GCAP member countries. At the same time, the Gulf country's move has created tensions in the alliance, with Japan against its membership while the United Kingdom and Italy are open to the idea, recalls the FT . Tokyo fears that the presence of a fourth member in the alliance could delay the already tight deadline. The countries aim to develop the aircraft in around half the time it took to build the Eurofighter Typhoon, using advanced manufacturing methods and digital tools.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/leonardo-bae-systems-e-mitsubishi-heavy-industries-accelerano-sul-gcap/ on Tue, 12 Sep 2023 09:52:20 +0000.