Crosetto noted that Italy, the UK, and Japan are working on the conditions under which new countries could join GCAP.
Both Germany and Australia could participate in the next generation fighter jet system GCAP, said Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto during a parliamentary hearing on Thursday.
With the €100 billion Future Combat Air System (FCAS) on the brink of failure due to a dispute between the French and German industry, talks about alternative projects and possibilities have dominated the discussion in Germany.
A rival project to develop a fighter jet system of the sixth generation called GCAP is shared by the UK, Italy and Japan.
Crosetto said that “Germany could possibly join this project in the future,” and that Australia could also be interested.
Progress on the French-German-Spanish FCAS project has stalled due to a dispute between France and Germany’s aviation giants. The leading contractors, Germany’s Airbus Defence and France’s Dassault, have publicly aired their disagreements about the envisioned work.
Germany and Spain previously partnered with Italy and the UK on the Eurofighter but are now working on rival projects competing for the same future market space.
“The more countries participate, the greater the critical mass in which to invest, the more bright minds can be brought together, the higher the economic return and the lower the costs for us,” Crosetto said.
The question remains of what kind of cooperation and openness the founding members of GCAP would envision. Experts agreed previously that joining GCAP at this stage would leave Germany and others with little influence and limited industrial returns.
Crosetto noted that the three GCAP members are working on the conditions under which additional countries could join the project.
Defence ministers from Germany, France, and Spain are set to decide FCAS’ future on 11 December, Bloomberg reported, as both French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz want a common position on the matter before the next EU summit 18 December.
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