Britain’s Burnham says open to Germany joining warplane project

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham indicated on Thursday that he would consider Germany's participation in a next-generation fighter jet project, following the failure of the Franco-German warplane programme. The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) involves Britain, Italy, and Japan, aiming to replace their existing Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2 jets.

Germany and France, along with Spain, had been competing for the development of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, which also aimed to replace their respective fighter jets. However, the FCAS initiative collapsed in June due to disagreements among the involved companies. During his visit to Berlin, Burnham informed Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Britain's openness to Germany's involvement in the GCAP.

Burnham expressed his hope to collaborate with Italy and Japan in the near future on the possibility of Germany joining the GCAP. The FCAS project fell apart after French aerospace group Dassault sought more control over the project, causing tensions in Berlin and with the defence arm of Airbus, which is based in Germany. Both France and Germany had emphasized the importance of involving local industries in advanced defence projects as part of the FCAS programme.

This issue might become a hurdle for Germany's inclusion in the GCAP, as major corporations in all three countries, such as BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Mitsubishi, have already allocated most of the work. Swedish aerospace company Saab has been mentioned as a potential partner for Germany and Airbus in constructing a next-generation fighter jet.

French and German officials have stated that other components of the FCAS project, like networked combat computer systems and a swarm of drones accompanying the fighter, will continue. Additionally, an eight-company consortium, which includes Airbus, has proposed building the next-generation jet themselves, instead of the FCAS project.