Have they spoken to London or Tokyo?
As a customer, perhaps - but since production contracts are on the point of being signed and attempt to reopen negotiations on work share would delay the programme for perhaps a decade.
https://www.zona-militar.com/en/2025...-gcap-fighter/
As tensions with France grow, Italy plans to bring Germany into the development of the new sixth-generation GCAP fighter
Italy opened the door to the possible incorporation of Germany into the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the joint project that Rome is promoting together with the United Kingdom and Japan to develop a sixth-generation fighter by 2035. The initiative comes at a time marked by growing tensions between Berlin and Paris regarding the parallel European program, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
During a parliamentary hearing, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto stated that several countries have shown interest in joining GCAP.
“Germany could probably join this project in the future,” he said. He also noted that there are inquiries from Australia, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
GCAP is led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, BAE Systems in the United Kingdom and Leonardo in Italy. The plan involves developing a stealth fighter that will operate together with drones and collaborative combat systems. Crosetto emphasized that the three founding nations agreed on equal-level cooperation. “The more countries that join, the larger the critical mass we can invest in, the more intellectual capacity we can bring together, the greater the economic return and the less it will cost us,” the minister said......
While tensions within FCAS remain unresolved, Italy maintains that new additions to GCAP could improve the program’s industrial, technological and financial viability. Crosetto’s remarks suggest that Rome aims to position itself as an actor capable of attracting partners in a strategic segment for European and Indo-Pacific defence. If Germany reconsiders its role in FCAS, its potential approach to GCAP would shift the balance of power in both projects and in the future combat air architecture of the continent.