Tag: japan

  • Trilateral joint venture to manage GCAP warplane work from London

    Trilateral joint venture to manage GCAP warplane work from London

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    ROME — The British, Japanese and Italian firms partnered on the sixth-generation Global Combat Air Programme fighter announced on Friday the launch of a joint venture dedicated to the program which will be headquartered in London, have an Italian CEO and be up and running by mid-2025.

    BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s JAIEC will each have a third share of the design and construction of the new fighter, which is expected to operate with drones and be in service by 2035.

    JAIEC is a firm jointly funded by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies.

    Basing the firm in the UK will ensure “maximum alignment and collaboration” with the UK-based GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) which teams the three government customers on the program.

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    “The new joint venture will be accountable for the design, development and delivery of the next generation combat aircraft and will remain the design authority for GCAP for the life of the product, which is expected to go out beyond 2070,” the joint venture’s founders said in a statement.

    At a signing in London, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said, “Peace must be defended and defending peace has a cost, that’s why synergies among governments and companies are fundamental, nobody can make it on its own … and (the GCAP) is a terrific example.”

    BAE Systems Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said the deal was “a culmination of many months working together with our industry partners,” while Kimito Nakae, President of JAIEC said, “As we now embark upon the exciting and important journey towards the success of GCAP, I acknowledge that the way might not always be simple and straightforward.”

    But he added, “I believe that through continuing the strong spirit of trilateral cooperation and collaboration that we have fostered up to this point, we will not only deliver the GCAP on time but also at a level that exceeds all of our expectations.”

    BAE managing director Herman Claesen said the new joint venture would be open to new entrants like Saudi Arabia, which has shown interest in the program.

    “The door is open to other partners to join, and that includes Saudi Arabia, but ultimately it is the call of the three governments,” he said.

    Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

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  • US defense secretary in Japan reaffirms alliance amid regional threats

    US defense secretary in Japan reaffirms alliance amid regional threats

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    TOKYO — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with officials in Japan on Tuesday to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington’s commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea.

    Austin also stressed that U.S. trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Seoul is crucial for regional stability even as South Korea is in political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law last week.

    Austin’s visit also came amid growing concerns over the safety of Osprey military aircraft, which have been grounded in the United States following a near crash at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico last month. The incident, caused by weakened metal components, was similar to a fatal crash off southwestern Japan last year.

    The U.S. measure prompted Japan to also ground its Ospreys. After confirming details with the U.S. military, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force has suspended operations of its 17 Ospreys, except for possible disaster relief and other missions, beginning Tuesday to prioritize safety, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

    During their meeting, Austin and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted the collapse of the Syrian government and praised the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance at a time of rapid global political change.

    “The world can change drastically in a week,” Ishiba told Austin, referring to political unrest in South Korea and Syria.

    The U.S. defense chief, whose term ends in January when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, told Ishiba that he appreciated the steady alliance with Japan during “very dynamic times” and that he was proud of the modernization of alliance command and control, strengthening of force posture and deterrence capabilities over the past several years.

    Austin later met with Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani and noted China’s “coercive behavior” in the East and South China Seas and North Korean support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as growing challenges.

    Austin underlined U.S. commitment “to advancing our historic trilateral cooperation” with South Korea. Washington’s commitment of “extended deterrence,” including its nuclear umbrella, to Japan and South Korea is “iron clad,” he added.

    Nakatani earlier told reporters that cooperation between Japan and the U.S., as well as with South Korea and other partners, is important as tensions escalate in the region.

    The trilateral partnership between Japan, the U.S. and South Korea has significantly strengthened under President Joe Biden’s administration, but faces new uncertainty amid ongoing political unrest in South Korea, which already led to the cancellation of Austin’s planned trip to that country.

    On Monday, Austin greeted crew members of the George Washington, a nuclear-powered flagship aircraft carrier docked at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo.

    Austin stressed the importance of U.S. cooperation with allies and partners in the region as he singled out China as the only country in the world with the intent and capability to change the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

    “We want to see this region remain open to freedom of navigation and the ability to fly the skies in international airways,” Austin was quoted as saying on the Defense Department’s website.

    “We will work with allies and partners to ensure we can do just that,” he added.

    The U.S. carrier, which is under maintenance in Yokosuka, will carry the advanced F-35C stealth combat aircraft squadron currently based in the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi.

    Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

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  • Pentagon chief Austin embarks on his last Asia visit amid uncertainty

    Pentagon chief Austin embarks on his last Asia visit amid uncertainty

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    Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to the Indo-Pacific Friday, his 12th and final trip to the region America has long said is its top priority and home to its main rival: China.

    While there, he will visit a bevy of U.S. allies and meet with colleagues on what amounts to a farewell tour. In his time as secretary, Austin has led a renaissance for American forces around the region. The Pentagon is now partnering with more countries and working closer with its longtime allies.

    That list includes many of the countries Austin will visit in the coming week: in particular the Philippines and Australia, where he will join a counterpart from Japan. He will also attend a meeting of regional defense ministers in Laos and on the way back become the first U.S. secretary of defense to visit Fiji, where American officials are negotiating a deal to allow military access.

    Through this larger and more tight-knit group of partners, the U.S. hopes to build and maintain weapons closer to China’s shores, while also spreading out its forces in the region, thus making them harder to target.

    “Secretary Austin has done things that you look at and say, five years ago, that would have been unimaginable,” a senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters before the trip.

    Despite the celebration, Austin’s arrival will also come at a moment of uncertainty in what he has helped build. Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president last week, along with the outcome of Japan’s general election the month before, marks the first round of major political change that could disrupt countries in the region unified by their concerns over China, which in recent years has grown stronger and more aggressive toward its neighbors.

    Pentagon officials have long maintained that their view of China, and the need to compete with it, has bipartisan commitment. But Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host without Washington experience, is a reminder that the incoming president can stray from the political mainstream.

    “I don’t think anybody’s going to object to these posture changes. Now there may be discussions about the level of burden sharing that’s ongoing in those relationships,” said Zack Cooper, who studies American alliances in Asia at the American Enterprise Institute.

    In particular, Trump has questioned America’s commitment to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China considers part of its rightful territory. U.S. policy is deliberately ambiguous on whether it would defend Taiwan during an invasion, leaving the choice to the president.

    Taipei is on track to spend around 2.6% of its GDP on defense and has billions of dollars worth of American arms on order, but Trump and some of his advisers have said its budget needs to rise.

    Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

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