UK PM approves world's second 6th-gen stealth fighter aircraft developed to counter Russia, China

The approval from Starmer came last week.

Prime Minister Starmer and his cabinet gave their nod for the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP), and a formal announcement of the project is likely in the next few weeks, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The GCAP programme is being developed to counter a rising threat from Russia and China.

"The project will merge two different military programs - UK and Italy's Tempest Project, for which the UK had already pledged the initial 2-billion-pounds, and Japan's F-X programme," NDTV reported.

In December last year, Italy, Japan, and the UK signed a treaty in December but there was uncertainty over the UK's participation owing to the Labour Party's Strategic Defence Review that had the potential to scrap the country's participation on grounds of high costs.

However, with Prime Minister Starmer's go-ahead, the project received a major boost.

The aircraft is being jointly developed by British aircraft manufacturer BAE Systems, engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, Italy's Leonardo Aerospace, and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

"UK is a proud member of the Global Combat Air Programme, working together with our partners Japan and Italy, we are fully focused on delivering a next-generation combat aircraft for 2035," UK's Defence Ministry said.