Companies from UK, Italy and Japan to form joint venture for new fighter jet

LONDON (AP) — The three companies building a next generation fighter jet for the U.K., Italy and Japan have revealed that they are forming a joint venture to deliver the aircraft. The agreement was announced Friday. Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement will each own a third of the new joint venture. It will be subject to regulatory approvals. The headquarters for the Global Combat Air Programme or GCAP will be the U.K. But operations will take place in each of the partner nations. The first chief executive will come from Italy under the terms of the agreement.