The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the collaboration between Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop a next-generation air system, has reached an important milestone with the opening of its first national site in Turin.

Lorenzo Mariani, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Leonardo, said: “GCAP is one of the most challenging and futuristic programmes in the Aerospace, Defence and Security sector, ensuring technological sovereignty for generations to come. I am proud that hundreds of engineers here in Turin, and thousands more around the country, will contribute to its success. GCAP will drive the technological development and long-term growth of the economies of the countries involved, creating highly skilled jobs and supporting production ecosystems throughout the supply chain. Through GCAP, we are ensuring a safer and more prosperous future for Italy, as well as for our allies, Japan and the UK”.
 

Launched in 2022 through the convergence of initiatives from the three countries, GCAP aims to bring the next-generation fighter into operational service from 2035.

The future air system will operate across five domains (air, land, sea, space and cyber), based on a hub-and-spoke architecture in which the fighter will serve as the “core platform”, connected to other peripheral crewed and uncrewed systems. This fully digital technological capability will be able to conduct missions in a coordinated and synergistic manner, supported by a command-and-control and communications infrastructure based on artificial intelligence and supercomputing.

GCAP will act as a driver of technological development and the long-term growth of the economies of the countries involved. Alongside Leonardo, Italy’s national industry includes other leading companies in the sector such as Avio Aero, Elettronica and MBDA Italia, together with their respective ecosystems  (universities, research centres, SMEs and start-ups).

On the government side, the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO), through the GCAP Agency, manages and coordinates the programme. Headquartered in Reading, UK, Edgewing Ltd, led by Chairman Herman Claesen and CEO Marco Zoff, brings together the contributions of the national industries within a single organisation.

The programme is already in its operational phase. Following an initial joint contract worth £686 million in April 2026, on 3 July the GCAP Agency awarded Edgewing a second £4.6 billion contract, with an 18-month duration and jointly funded by the three countries, to complete the advanced analysis and concept phase before moving forward with detailed design and development.

Owned equally, with 33.3% stakes held by Leonardo, BAE Systems and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd, Edgewing is the trinational prime contractor responsible for the design and development of the aircraft and the design authority throughout the product’s entire lifecycle, which will extend beyond 2070. Production and final assembly, meanwhile, will be managed by the national industries and their respective supply chains.

Edgewing Italia is the company’s first national entity and will serve as Edgewing’s operational presence in Italy, integrating the country’s contribution and activities with the international organisation.

At full capacity, the plan envisages around 1,000 people working for Edgewing Italia, as well as more than 1,000 additional Leonardo employees dedicated to Partner Company activities, primarily at the Turin and Caselle sites, with other Italian sites also involved.

The choice of Turin as the site reflects the area’s long-standing concentration of world-class aeronautical and engineering expertise. In Caselle, Leonardo carries out the final assembly of the Eurofighter, while engineering activities are concentrated in Turin.

Leonardo currently employs around 5,200 people in Piedmont, including approximately 2,200 in Caselle and nearly 1,800 in Turin, in addition to around 1,100 employees of the Thales Alenia Space joint venture. The local ecosystem driven by the Group supports more than 14,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs and involves around 420 suppliers headquartered in Piedmont, 87% of which are SMEs, accounting for approximately €740 million in orders in 2025. Leonardo’s Research and Development investments also represent 9.7% of total R&D spending by companies in the region.