Mitsubishi Electric Prepares Three Facilities for Japanese-British-Italian Fighter Jets

JAKARTA - Mitsubishi Electric plans to build three facilities to produce electronic systems for new generation fighter jets developed by Japan, Britain, and Italy.

Kyodo News, quoted Friday, August 7, reported that the Japanese company was one of the main participants in the Global Combat Air Programme or GCAP. The program targets new fighter jets to be operational by 2035.

The plan to build three facilities shows that the GCAP project is moving from an intergovernmental agreement and initial design to industry preparation.

Mitsubishi Electric's Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Fujimoto said the project is expected to start contributing to the company's profits around fiscal year 2029 or 2030.

"My estimate is that this project could start contributing to profits around fiscal year 2029 or 2030, or maybe a year earlier," Fujimoto said.

Mitsubishi Electric will also receive payment for the deployment of personnel and the creation of prototypes.

In the GCAP project, the Japanese industry is led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Britain is represented by BAE Systems, while Italy is represented by Leonardo.

Canada has joined as an observer. Germany and Saudi Arabia are also discussed as additional candidate partners. However, project officials stressed that the inclusion of new countries should not interfere with the operational target in 2035.

Mitsubishi Electric, which also produces radar and missiles, is expanding its defense business. The company is targeting annual sales in the sector to rise by more than 50 percent to 690 billion yen, or about $4.4 billion, by March 2031.

Exports are expected to be an important part of the business growth. In addition to GCAP, Mitsubishi Electric is involved in the provision of equipment for the Mogami-class warships that Japan will supply to Australia.

The company also produces components for the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile made by US defense company RTX Corp.

In April, Japan eased decades-old restrictions on arms exports. The policy is aimed at strengthening the domestic defense industry amid the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts that are straining the weapons production capacity of Western countries.

Fujimoto said the reduced US missile stockpiles during the conflict with Iran, coupled with arms shipments to Ukraine, could open opportunities for Japanese manufacturers as Washington seeks to replenish its arsenal.

"There is nothing special that I can reveal, but in a macro sense there is a possibility," he said.