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Japan, Britain and Italy will announce a groundbreaking agreement to jointly develop a new advanced jet fighter, as early as next week, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.
It is the conclusion of ever-closer defence relations between Tokyo and London, which in turn give Britain a greater security role in Asia and provide Japan new security partners to assist it confront neighbouring China’s growing military power.
The news of the effort to combine the British-led Tempest jet fighter project with the Japanese F-X fighter programme in July was first reported by Reuters. It will be Japan’s first time working on a significant project involving defence equipment with nations other than the United States.
According to the sources, the announcement will come before Japan releases a new national security strategy and military procurement plan around mid-December.
That arms build-up, which could double the country’s defence budget to around 5 per cent of gross domestic product over the next five years, will pay for new weapons including long-range missiles designed to deter China from resorting to military action in and around the East China Sea.
Talks between Japan, Britain and Italy on the new jet fighter will be led by BAE Systems Plc and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and discussions will continue next year to iron out the project’s specifics, including work distribution and the designs of the variants each partner will use, according to the sources.
Itsunori Onodera, a former Japanese defence minister and prominent lawmaker, claimed in an interview last month that the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is also considering plans to loosen its military export laws so that the joint jet fighter may be exported.
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