In the sixth-generation fighters of Western countries, two are jointly developed. What is the current progress? France, Spain, and Germany are striving to overcome differences in the "Future Combat Air System" (FCAS) project, while the "Global Combat Air Program" (GCAP), jointly developed by the UK, Italy, and Japan, seems to be progressing smoothly. It is planned to produce the first prototype in 2027, with the goal of formal delivery by 2035. However, the GCAP project appears smooth on the surface. According to "Analisi Difesa," a report from the Italian Ministry of Defense shows that the R&D cost of GCAP has tripled within five years, with Italy's R&D funding increasing from 6 billion euros in 2021 to 18.6 billion euros now. The Italian Ministry of Defense has submitted requests to the House and Senate committees to approve an additional 8.7 billion euros for GCAP R&D expenses.

The Italian Ministry of Defense explained that the sharp increase in R&D costs was not due to the investment in industrial capacity for project development, but rather due to "technical research, testing, development, and design." According to sources from ANSA news agency, this is mainly due to the rapid development of "artificial intelligence (AI)" and especially the rising prices of key minerals.

The organization MILEX, which tracks Italian military spending, pointed out that GCAP will become the most expensive project in Italian military history, surpassing the F-35 procurement project. Because the total cost of purchasing 90 F-35A/B stealth fighters from the US was 18 billion euros, while the R&D phase of GCAP alone has already reached 18.6 billion euros. The future procurement costs cannot be estimated yet because the unit price of GCAP is still unknown.

According to the documents from the Italian Ministry of Defense, 2 billion euros have been allocated for the first phase of GCAP R&D, and an additional 16.6 billion euros are needed to complete the two phases. The Italian Ministry of Defense requested to first allocate 8.8 billion euros in funds, which would be paid annually until 2037, and the remaining 7.8 billion euros would be arranged later.

Regarding the skyrocketing R&D costs, the Five-Star Movement, an opposition party in Italy, criticized: "We do not doubt the value of the plan, but it is unacceptable that our parliamentary committees are used as ATMs, distributing billions of euros like peanuts, without even providing in-depth and detailed explanations for the significant increase in expected expenditures."

Original: toutiao.com/article/1854912034043980/

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