UK's Tempest fighter jet set for international contracts, Japan talks ongoing -BAE

BAE Systems said Tempest, the British-led project to build a new fighter jet, will sign international contracts with partners Italy and Sweden by the end of this year and talks were ongoing with Japan about joining.

BAE Systems said Tempest, the British-led project to build a new fighter jet, will sign international contracts with partners Italy and Sweden by the end of this year and talks were ongoing with Japan about joining. BAE Systems' director of Future Combat Air Systems Michael Christie said he expected contracts with the two partners on the concept and assessment phase to be signed by the end of 2021.

Talks with Japan ranged from the country joining the programme as a partner to collaborating on technology, he said. "There's a lot of commonality between the UK and Japan in terms of what they're trying to achieve in this sphere...that's an ongoing area and one that we are actively pursuing," Christie told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.