Global Combat Air Program (GCAP)

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The UK’s June 2026 Defense Investment Plan (DIP) switched the country’s defense modernization into 6th gear, with £298 billion ($402 billion) in funding to be made available through 2029.

Not much is known about the new engine for the trinational Global Combat Air Program fighter aircraft, but a detailed model suggests it will be unlike any propulsion system yet developed.

The next-generation combat aircraft landscape in Europe remains in flux amid potentially shifting industrial arrangements and timelines.

Defense officials from the Global Combat Air Program nations have discussed advancing the service entry of the new fighter by up to two years.

Edgewing, the trinational joint venture serving as prime contractor for the GCAP's next-generation fighter, is considering a different approach to flight testing.

MTU and Safran's FCAS engine partnership is increasingly unlikely to survive Europe’s fighter program split.

Expansion of the Global Combat Air Program to other partners should not come at the price of slowing the program, says BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn.

BAE Systems aims to power on its FCAD demonstrator in 2027 ahead of flight testing in 2028.

The UK government's recently released Defense Investment Plan lays out where investment will be funneled and how much it will spend on different aircraft programs.

Leonardo's Excalibur 757 will flight test advanced sensors for GCAP and future multiplatform combat aircraft.

Listen in to hear about Brontanax, GCAP, howling Hongdus and more as Aviation Week defense editors break down what they learned at the Farnborough Airshow.

As Canada joins GCAP as an observer, governments and industry are working out how to manage the next steps in this ambitious fighter program.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The sensor and power providers for the Edgewing GCAP fighter will spend the project phase turning concepts into technology demonstrations to mature capabilities for the detailed design phase.

Aviation Week's executive editor for defense and space, Robert Wall, reports on significant developments for GCAP at Farnborough Airshow 2026.

Airbus seeks a major role in Europe's next-generation fighter while exploring new partnerships after FCAS collapsed.

Canada has formally joined the Global Combat Air Program as an observer.

Edgewing begins establishing UK, Italian and Japanese production sites while advancing GCAP fighter and engine development toward production.

A refreshed Combat Air Strategy would accelerate collaborative combat aircraft, modernize the fighter fleet and reshape how the RAF intends to fight.

Canada is expected to join the British-Italian-Japanese GCAP fighter program as an observer, signaling interest in its next-generation stealth aircraft.

With funding as well as demonstrators taking shape and new partners waiting in the wings, GCAP is moving from ambition to reality.

The next generation of RAF combat power will depend as much on autonomous systems and industrial resilience as on a new fighter aircraft.

Editors dig into the UK’s Defense Investment Plan, discussing how billions in new spending could reshape GCAP and airpower, electronic warfare and NATO strategy.

Development of the combat aircraft at the heart of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) is set to accelerate after prime contractor Edgewing was awarded a £4.6 billion contract.