Tokyo, 19 November, /AJMEDIA/
Japan, Britain and Italy are considering holding defense ministerial talks in Tokyo in the latter half of December to reaffirm their plan for joint development of a next-generation fighter jet, sources familiar with the matter said.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his British and Italian counterparts, Grant Shapps and Guido Crosetto, will likely agree to set up a coordinating body for developing the jet and will keep the deployment target year of 2035, according to the sources.
The warplane co-development deal was reached last December. Japan wants to develop a successor to its F-2 jet, while Britain and Italy aim to replace their Eurofighter jets.
The Japanese government will seek Diet approval of the plans to establish and run the coordinating body, which will be headquartered in Britain, during next year’s regular session, aiming to secure 4 billion yen for Japan’s share of the fund needed to operate the body, according to the sources.
A similar coordinating institution was set up when Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain jointly developed the Eurofighter jet.
Under the body’s supervision, a consortium formed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Britain’s BAE Systems plc, and Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. aims to finish the design work by 2027, the sources added.
So that Japan can export the new fighter jet to a third nation, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has been trying to relax the country’s strict defense equipment transfer rules, which have long been maintained under the country’s war-renouncing Constitution.