Burnham says UK is open to Germany joining GCAP fighter programme

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in Berlin on Thursday, 8 October, that Britain is open to Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme, the fighter aircraft project it runs with Italy and Japan. His remarks put possible German participation on the public agenda, but the three founding governments have made no reported decision to admit Germany.

‘I’ve indicated to the Chancellor … our openness to Germany joining GCAP,’ Burnham told a news conference after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Al Jazeera’s account. He said Britain wanted to pursue the possibility in the coming period while working with Italy and Japan. That is an expression of the UK position, rather than an announcement that Germany has joined or that negotiations have produced an agreement.

What Germany joining GCAP would require

GCAP is a partnership between the UK, Italy and Japan to develop a sixth-generation fighter aircraft. Leonardo chief executive Lorenzo Mariani said in a Reuters interview in July that a decision on admitting another country rests with those three governments. Burnham’s statement therefore leaves decisions by Italy and Japan, as well as Germany’s own intentions, unresolved.

The available reporting does not establish whether Germany has formally sought membership, whether either of Britain’s existing partners supports its admission, or whether an invitation has been issued. It provides no agreed terms for German participation, including cost sharing or a role in governing the programme. Those are material questions for a project already being developed by three countries and their industrial partners.

Why the fighter programme’s timetable matters

In the July Reuters interview, Mariani said any new country should ideally join by the end of 2026 or, at the latest, within the following 12 months. He linked that view to the programme’s target of bringing the aircraft into service in 2035 and said time was tight for industry. His preferred timetable was an industry executive’s assessment, not a deadline announced by the founding governments.

Mariani called Germany a suitable potential partner, pointing to its technical expertise, rising defence budget and existing cooperation with the UK and Italy on the Eurofighter Typhoon. Reuters also reported that some executives had warned that bringing in another partner could cause delays. Together, those comments explain the competing pressures on the programme: a new partner could contribute capabilities, while integrating one would require decisions that affect work already under way.

Leonardo, BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are the industrial companies identified in the Reuters account as working on the new fighter. Their involvement makes the question of when and how another country might enter consequential for the project’s planning. Reuters reported Mariani’s comments at the Farnborough Airshow in July, before Burnham’s Berlin remarks; they should not be read as a response to the prime minister’s statement.

A separate UK-Germany security partnership

Burnham’s Berlin visit also brought a bilateral security announcement. The UK government said on 8 October that Britain and Germany would share information and coordinate efforts to monitor, deter and disrupt cyberattacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats. ‘Britain and Germany are joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity,’ Burnham said in the government’s release. That announced cooperation is separate from GCAP and does not establish a German role in the fighter project.

The government said Burnham and Merz would discuss support for Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and disruption to trade routes, including through the Strait of Hormuz. It also said the 2025 Kensington Treaty was formally ratified on 8 October, setting a broader framework for cooperation in science, technology, defence, security and growth. None of those bilateral steps amounts to a decision by GCAP’s three founding governments on admitting Germany.

For now, the confirmed change is Britain’s publicly stated openness to German participation. Burnham said he would seek to progress the idea with Italy and Japan, while Mariani’s earlier interview indicates why industry is attentive to timing. Whether Germany seeks a place in GCAP, and on what terms the founding partners might agree, remains unanswered in the reporting available on 8 October.