The facility will house the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) and a joint venture company named Edgewing. This joint venture brings together BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (Japan) to lead the design and development of the aircraft.
Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, who formally opened the HQ, said the programme was “bringing together the best minds from across three governments and industry to drive innovation and strengthen each country’s combat air industrial capability.” She added, “The headquarters is a flagship example of the ambitions of our Strategic Defence Review.”
On the same day, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps met virtually with his Italian and Japanese counterparts, Guido Crosetto and Gen Nakatani, to review GCAP progress. The initiative is already supporting thousands of skilled jobs and strengthening ties between the defence sectors and armed forces of the three partner nations.
More than 3,500 UK-based personnel, including engineers and programmers, are currently working on GCAP. An additional 1,000 people have participated in apprenticeships or training schemes related to the programme, in line with the Government’s Plan for Change to use defence as a driver of economic growth.
Recently released data shows that 151,000 jobs in the UK are directly supported by Ministry of Defence spending, up by 14,000 from the previous year. The South East alone has seen an increase of 4,500 defence-related jobs in 12 months, with the region now employing 38,700 in this sector.
The headquarters’ launch follows the government’s commitment to raise defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027. This increase underlines the UK’s pledge to national security and global strength.
Source: UK Ministry of Defence.
