Global Air and Space Chiefs 2025: GCAP air forces expect flying prototype in 2030, ahead of 2035 initial capability

A rendering showing a pair of GCAP combat aircraft over Rome. An official from the Italian Air Force said he and his colleagues in Japan and the UK expect a flying prototype in 2030, ahead of entry into service in 2035. (BAE Systems)

The three air forces of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) expect a prototype aircraft to be flying in 2030, ahead of its planned introduction into service with an initial combat capability in 2035.

Speaking at the Global Air and Space Chiefs' Conference 2025 in London, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana: AMI), Lieutenant General Antonio Conserva, said that he and his compatriots in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and UK Royal Air Force (RAF) are confident that the political will is there to meet the highly challenging timelines set out for the trilateral programme.

“I believe there is a very strong political commitment, and all three air forces are very determined to achieve possibly a flying prototype by 2030 and the first jets with some initial capability by 2035,” he said on 16 July. “There is a lot of work to be done [for entry into service] in just 10 years from now, but I think that we have put together our best engineers, our best system operators, [and] our best pilots in order to achieve the best programme the world has ever seen.”