The new joint venture marks a key milestone for the GCAP programme, following its inception in December 2022. 

 

Industry partners from the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) have established a joint venture (JV) called ‘Edgewing’ to manage the design and development of the sixth-generation fighter aircraft. 

BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. (JAIEC: Japan) formed the new JV on 20 June. 

Edgewing will be headquartered in the UK, with teams also based in each of the partner nations, according to a BAE Systems press release published on the same day.  

The JV will continue to target an “in-service date of 2035” for the aircraft, and “remain the design authority” throughout its lifetime, which is expected to be active beyond 2070, the company states. 

“Edgewing will combine skilled and experienced resources, capabilities and technologies from the three parent companies, into one company”, Rachael Gordon, Strategic and External Communications Director at BAE Systems, explained to DSEI Gateway. 

When asked about how the JV will operate, Gordon said it will “contract work through the ‘lead systems integrators’ into their domestic supply chains… safeguarding valuable skills, technology and supporting national security and economic contribution”. 

Edgewing’s staff – which will be comprised of experts from the three lead systems integrators – will make decisions regarding the GCAP subcontracts, with a structure designed to represent their equal shares in the programme. 

 

The who’s who of Edgewing 

Leading the JV is CEO, Marco Zoff, a former Managing Director at Leonardo’s Aircraft Division. For him, the JV aims to “set a new global standard for partnership, innovation and trust”. 

Besides Zoff, a board of directors will manage the JV, with a rotation among the three founding companies. The first nominated chair of the board is Herman Claesen, Managing Director of Future Combat Air Systems at BAE Systems Air. 

The selection of Edgewing’s leadership is the latest in a string of milestones since the programme’s inception. 

 

GCAP’s latest milestone 

The GCAP programme was first announced by the prime ministers of Italy, Japan and the UK in December 2022. 

A treaty to affirm each nation’s commitment to the programme was subsequently signed in 2023, establishing the GIGO. 

The lead systems integrators later agreed to work towards establishing a JV in December 2024, with an industry representative telling DSEI Gateway’s editor-in-chief in May this year that the JV would be established in the coming months.  

Now, Edgewing’s establishment marks a step forward for GCAP, coming 10 years ahead of the sixth-generation fighter programme’s proposed in-service date. 

 

---

Benjamin Howe, Journalist, Clarion Defence & Security