Senior BAE Systems executives hope to finalize negotiations on work share, work allocation and work locations for the trinational Global Combat Air Program by the summer.
Italy, Japan and the UK's Global Combat Air Program developing a sixth-generation crewed combat aircraft will be headquartered in London, the nations say.
QinetiQ is adapting the four-engine airliner to become an Airborne Technology Demonstrator to support radar and sensor integration work for future programs.
Leonardo has been awarded a €134 million ($151 million) contract that will enable aerospace engineering company 2Excel Aviation to begin modifying the Boeing 757 airliner.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric, Leonardo UK and both Leonardo and Elettronica from Italy are collaborating on the Global Combat Air Program’s (GCAP) electronics.