ROME - A delegation from the UK Parliamentary Defence Committee is in Rome this week to strengthen ties with Italy in the defence sector, the UK Ministry of Defence have said. The main focus of the visit is to discuss the Global Combat Air Programme, a plan between Italy, Japan, and the UK to develop a new fighter jet by 2035. 

 Eight MPs led by the Conservative Jeremy Quin met with Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defence, and their counterparts from the House and Senate committees as well as Luca Goretti, Chief of Staff of the Air Force. They also met with the top management of Leonardo, who describe themselves “a strategic partner of GCAP” and are the main Italian contractor for the GCAP.

 Chairman of the Defence Committee Quin said that there is a "very strong relationship" between the Italian and British armed forces, especially the air forces who are at the heart of the fighter jet plan. He described the meetings as "hugely reassuring" and praised Italy's "skills and capabilities" to work with the U.K. and Japan as an "equal partner" in the programme. 

 Italy had previously been handed the backseat role, expected to only contribute one fifth of the total funds to the programme, with Japan and the U.K. companies leading the development of the fighter jet. 

 The British delegation will then travel to Naples to visit the Allied Joint Force Command, a NATO military base. During an interview with Azienda, Quin echoed the sentiments of a House of Commons Defence Committee report which expressed concern over the British military's readiness for war in case NATO's article 5 was triggered. 

 There are also plans for the British delegation to visit Tokyo. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was in Japan on Feb. 5 to discuss security and defence with Japan. Questions have been raised about Japan’s ability to participate in the fighter jet scheme, due to a postwar ban on exporting lethal weapons, however Prime Minister Kishido is currently trying to ease restrictions.

 Quin said “the GCAP will be an extraordinary project, a sixth-generation air combat system that will surpass traditional platforms and aircraft.”

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