UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a collaboration between the UK, Italy, and Japan to develop a new fighter jet that uses artificial intelligence.
The prime minister says the joint venture aims to create thousands of UK jobs and strengthen security ties. The nations will develop a next-generation fighter – due to enter service in the mid-2030s – that will eventually replace the Typhoon jet.
It is hoped the new Tempest jet will carry the latest weapons.
Prime Minister of the UK Rishi Sunak said the partnership would “keep the country safe from the new threats that we face” as he visited RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday. He said: “We’re one of the few countries in the world that has the capability to build technologically advanced fighter aircraft.”
Work on developing it is already underway – with the aim to create a combat aircraft that will provide speed stealth, and use advanced sensors and even artificial intelligence to assist the human pilot when they are overwhelmed, or under extreme stress.
It could also be flown without a pilot’s input if required and could be able to fire hypersonic missiles.But building such a complex aircraft is extremely expensive – developing the F35 jet was the most expensive programme ever undertaken by the Pentagon – so Britain has been looking for partners.
Italy was already on board, and the addition of Japan is a significant move – at a time when Britain is building closer ties with allies in the Indo-Pacific region worried about a more assertive China.
Other countries could still join the programme. France, Germany, and Spain are already working together on their own separate design – as is the United States.
For the UK, this agreement is not just about security but also economics. The hope is that developing a new fighter jet could create and sustain thousands of UK jobs and open doors to more arms exports.
