Duncan Looi
EDGEWING–the Italy-Japan-United Kingdom Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) opened a landmark new facility in Turin, Italy which will be home to hundreds of engineers from all nations working on the tripartite collaboration.
The site will sustain thousands of highly skilled engineering jobs in the region, with its workforce and supply chain contributing to the development of the next-generation combat aircraft for the three nations led by Italy’s Leonardo, Japan’s Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement (JAIEC) and the UK’s BAE Systems. Edgewing is the joint venture company established by the partner nations’ aerospace industries to design and deliver the GCAP aircraft.
Turin is the first additional Edgewing site to open for engineering activities since the joint GCAP Agency-Edgewing headquarters was established in Reading, UK last year. It is the first of three planned facilities, with Japan and the UK to open in coming months. All three Edgewing global sites will play the same roles, as engineering hubs contributing to the delivery of the programme.
Edgewing CEO Marco Zoff said: “Our new site in Italy is the latest step in Edgewing’s rapid growth as an organisation, as we scale up the company across our three nations. Ready to disrupt the defence industry by delivering dramatically quicker than previous generation programmes, the innovation and energy we can access here in Turin will underpin our acceleration.”
Leonardo CEO and General Manager Lorenzo Mariani added: “GCAP will ensure technological sovereignty for generations to come and I am proud that hundreds of engineers here in Turin, and thousands more around the country, will contribute to its success. Leonardo is proud to support Edgewing as the programme continues to drive technological development and long-term economic growth.”
Edgewing launched in 2025 as the industrial lead and design authority for the GCAP aircraft and this year signed international contracts worth more than US$6.6 billion with the GCAP Agency. As it works to deliver the programme’s advanced concept and assessment phase, Edgewing is rapidly scaling, bringing work together from each programme and ensuring that the digital capabilities are in place to deliver the upcoming design and development phase.
The new fighter will feature cutting-edge sensing and communications, artificial intelligence (AI) support for pilots and the latest stealth technology. It will be able to contribute directly to the mission, delivering surveillance and strike missions at long-range in heavily contested airspace, as well as contributing to the strategic operating picture and directing drones and other assets in the battle as a flying ‘team captain’.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:LEONARDO)
