Next-gen fighter jets will keep our country safe, says Prime Minister

The Prime Minister said that a defence partnership with Italy and Japan to develop next-generation fighter jets will help “keep the country safe from the new threats that we face”. Downing Street aims for the jets, called Tempest in the UK, to take to the skies by 2035 and serve as a successor to the RAF Typhoon. The ambition is for the planes, developed under the global combat air programme (GCAP), to be enhanced by capabilities including uncrewed aircraft, advanced sensors and cutting-edge weapons. Rishi Sunak launched the first major phase of the programme during a visit to RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Friday. He arrived at the base in an RAF Hercules plane and was welcomed by Chief of the Air Staff Sir Mike Wigston and RAF Coningsby’s station commander Billy Cooper.Mr Sunak was shown Typhoon aircraft and went into a hangar to view a model of the Tempest jet that is being developed.He told reporters the announcement of the defence partnership was “incredibly important”.