UK, Japan to fund majority of Italy fighter project - sources.

Britain and Japan are expected to pay for most of the development cost of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter. The project is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars before the new jet fighter enters service around the middle of the next decade. Italy is set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost. The breakdown of investment is among the first details to emerge from talks on a high-profile venture that will be a test of whether Japan and Europe can collaborate on major military projects.