The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)

The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), launched in 2022 by Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan for the development of a system of systems centreed on a sixth-generation fighter aircraft, is an innovative international procurement programme of unprecedented importance for Italy in strategic, military, technological and industrial terms.
IAI conducted a comprehensive study on GCAP, with three national case studies – British, Japanese and Italian ones – and a series of thematic focuses on the programme’s institutional and industrial governance, its technological implications and pilots’ training. Throughout the project, the research team conducted a series of off-the-record dialogues with various military and industrial stakeholders, including on-site visits to the main facilities involved in the GCAP, as well as with other experts and practitioners.
The result of the research is a study in English, with an executive summary in Italian, presented and discussed at two events held in 2025 respectively in Rome and Milan.

Funding: Leonardo