The UK’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Britain is “open” to Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a multinational effort to develop next-generation fighter jets. Burnham made the remarks during a visit to Berlin, where he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and discussed the UK’s position on Germany potentially joining the project.
GCAP was launched as a cooperation framework between the UK, Italy and Japan to build a next-generation, sixth-generation-capable fighter jet. According to reports, the programme also expanded recently by welcoming Canada as an “observer nation” in July. Outlets agree that Burnham’s comments are framed as an indication of openness rather than a binding commitment, with the next step depending on talks among the participating countries.
