More nations willing to join GCAP jet project, Italy says

ROME, June 23 (Reuters) - ‌More countries could ​join ​the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fighter project involving Italy, Britain and Japan, the Italian defence ‌minister said on Tuesday, stressing that opening the ⁠venture to other nations would allow greater sharing of costs.

GCAP is ‌an effort to build ‌a next-generation fighter by a joint venture of Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement (JAIEC), ​which is backed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Partners are planning to build the new jet by 2035.

"The ⁠country most interested at the moment seems to be Canada as an ​observer; we are fully open to it," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told reporters on ​the sidelines of an event in ‌Rome.

"If Germany or other countries, or Saudi Arabia, were to come in, we would ⁠be completely willing, because the more there are, the greater the chances of creating something and bringing down costs," said ⁠Crosetto, a key ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Earlier this month, ​Germany and France agreed to scrap a landmark project to develop and build a new-generation fighter jet as they were unable ‌to break a deadlock between arms firms involved in the plan.

The chief executive of Leonardo ‌recently told Reuters that Berlin would be a particularly ⁠valid partner for GCAP ‌as it would ​bring its industrial expertise to the project.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Giulia Segreti and Keith ‌Weir)

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