GCAP: Just Like NGAD, Another 6th Generation Fighter in Trouble?

Summary and Key Points: The United States Air Force and the newly elected UK Labour government are both showing hesitation towards their respective sixth-generation fighter jet programs due to rising costs. The US Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program and the UK's Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) face scrutiny, with concerns paralleling past budget overruns seen in the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor programs.

-UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard emphasized the importance of the GCAP but noted the need for cost-effective procurement. The Labour government is currently reviewing its defense strategy, potentially impacting the £12 billion commitment to GCAP.

-Both programs involve multinational collaborations, including Japan and Italy for GCAP, highlighting the global implications of these cost concerns.

Labour Government Hesitates on GCAP Amid US Air Force's NGAD Apprehensions

The United States Air Force is apparently getting cold feet regarding the development of a sixth-generation fighter, which is being developed as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program that calls for a system of systems, including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could act as a loyal wingman. The cost of the manned fighter component of the NGAD is a major concern, and the U.S. Air Force can ill afford an expensive mistake – possibly noting how both the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor programs were significantly scaled back.

It would seem that the apprehension over the cost of the future fighter isn't one limited to the U.S. Air Force, as it was reported last week that the new UK Labour government, which took power earlier this month, now views the UK-led Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) as "important," yet isn't ready to go all in.

"It is a really important program for us. It's important for our partners in Japan and Italy … and we're meeting both those partners next week to underline that. But it's not right for me to prejudge what might happen in the [Strategic] Defence Review." explained Armed Force Minister Luke Pollard at the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference in London on Thursday, according to a report from Breaking Defense.

"We need cutting-edge capabilities," added Pollard. "We need to make sure that when we're procuring systems, high-end systems, future systems that we need to keep our people safe, we do it in the most cost effective way and that is by working with our partners."

As Breaking Defense further reported, the Tory government had committed spending upwards of £2 billion ($2.6 billion) on GCAP until 2025 and an additional £12 billion ($15.5 billion) on the program overall, yet, it is unclear if  Labour will stick to that level of funding.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office on July 5, had launched a strategic defense review. Labour is expected to continue the efforts of the Conservative Party that called for greater investment in military defense, and to maintain the UK's prominent role in the NATO alliance.

Will Lack of Confidence in the NGAD Shoot Down the GCAP?

However, there is also speculation that the UK could follow the lead of the U.S., and that could be the breaks on the GCAP.

"It's notable that the US Air Force is saying it can't potentially afford NGAD, and given that NGAD already has prototypes flying around is their third or fourth attempt to build a combat stealth aircraft, they're very good at it and it's US funding, if the US thinks it is maybe unaffordable … then I think we probably need to look very carefully at how we're going to do this in Europe," Justin Bronk, senior research fellow for airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, also said at the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference. "But for the immediate term, you’ve got to stop the Russians from trying to test NATO militarily in this decade, otherwise, everything else is kind of irrelevant."

Where the UK may have an advantage is that it has lined up foreign partners. The UK and Italy's Tempest program merged with the Japanese F-X project. In December 2022, the UK, Japan, and Italy signed an international treaty to collaborate on the development of an advanced front-line fighter.

Tempest was initiated to develop a replacement for the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is operated by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Italian Air Force, while the F-X program was jumpstarted to produce an aircraft to replace the aging Japanese F-2 fighters. It is worth noting that all three nations have adopted the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole fifth-generation stealth fighter – but appeared to be looking towards a sixth-generation combat aircraft.

The multi-national industry team includes BAE System, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo, MBDA UK, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI, and Mitsubishi Electric.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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