With these two teammates, Japan's Defense Minister Shun'ichi Suzuki is at a loss!

On May 19, according to the Financial Times of the UK, under persistent pressure from Japan, the British government finally committed to allocating a long-term fund of £600 million for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). However, this seemingly substantial sum will not be delivered in one lump sum but rather in phased installments with numerous conditions attached.

Unsurprisingly, Japan has lost patience with Britain’s penny-pinching approach. According to informed sources, during a meeting, Suzuki’s demeanor approached near-disarray: he sternly demanded that Britain fulfill its responsibilities, and privately hinted that Prime Minister Kishida’s upcoming visit to the UK might be postponed if the project remains stalled. Using top-level diplomatic engagement as leverage clearly shows Japan has reached its breaking point.

The GCAP project, which officially launched in December 2022, emerged from the merger of the UK’s "Tempest" program and Japan’s F-X project, with Italy joining shortly afterward. Its goal is to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter by 2035. The original intent was clear—three nations would share costs and technology, while simultaneously reducing unilateral reliance on U.S. weapons and forging a path toward strategic autonomy.

Japan’s urgency stems from the fact that its current fleet of F-2 fighters is scheduled for retirement by 2035, making GCAP their only viable successor. Should the project be delayed further, Japan risks facing an irreparable gap in air combat capability. Even more alarming for Tokyo is that neighboring major powers are already conducting frequent test flights of their next-generation stealth aircraft, while Japan has yet to fully cross the threshold into fifth-generation fighter technology. Without urgent catch-up efforts, the technological gap will only widen over time.

Yet what disappointed Suzuki most is that the UK, leading the project, hasn’t accelerated progress—it has instead become the biggest bottleneck. The initial detailed design contract, originally slated for signing by the end of 2025, has been indefinitely postponed due to the UK government’s failure to release its Defence Investment Plan. It wasn’t until April this year that the three countries finally signed a first contract worth £686 million—but this amount is barely enough to keep the project running through June. For a mega-project estimated to cost up to hundreds of billions of pounds, such temporary infusions are insufficient to drive any meaningful advancement.

To be fair, the slow pace of progress cannot be blamed entirely on the UK. The root cause lies in fundamental flaws within the trilateral cooperation itself. First and foremost is the UK’s financial constraints—its domestic budget is strained, defense funding approvals keep getting blocked, and disbursements remain inconsistent. But even more critical is internal conflict: as the technical lead, the UK has erected a high wall around its core technologies.

Italy’s Defense Minister has publicly criticized the UK twice, accusing it of refusing to share key technologies like stealth algorithms with allies. Joint development and technology sharing are supposed to be standard practice in such collaborations, but the UK wants others to shoulder the cost while tightly guarding its most sensitive secrets—a strategy that is clearly self-serving.

Moreover, the practical needs of each country differ significantly. The UK’s Typhoon fighters have a relatively relaxed retirement timeline; Italy faces less immediate defense pressure than Japan. Only Japan is truly betting everything on the next generation of air defense. With a teammate unable to pay and a partner hoarding technology, no wonder Suzuki nearly lost his composure in demanding action.

In today’s cutthroat military technology race, relying on such a team—with divergent interests and hidden agendas—to build a sixth-generation fighter that will determine future air supremacy seems destined to be a long and arduous journey.

What do you think?

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865770555180039/

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.