Japan, Britain and Italy are in tacit agreement that Saudi Arabia could be allowed to join their fighter aircraft development program — but only once the multibillion-dollar project is well under way and the partners have cleared all outstanding points, including concerns over tech-sharing, sources familiar with the issues say.
This means that Riyadh and other future potential partners would likely only be able to join the Global Combat Air Program after the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO) and the Edgewing joint venture sign their first international contract, which is expected by the end of this year.
GIGO, whose headquarters opened Monday in the English town of Reading, was set up by the three governments last year to manage the project, while Edgewing — which brings together Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. (JAIEC) — was launched last month and will be responsible for the fighter’s design and development.
