Italy open to Germany joining fighter jet project, says Leonardo chief

{"text":[[{"start":9.25,"text":"Leonardo’s new chief executive has signalled that Italy would be open to Germany joining a next-generation fighter jet programme with the UK and Japan, following Berlin’s withdrawal from a rival project with France and Spain."}],[{"start":21.85,"text":"Lorenzo Mariani, who took the helm of the state-controlled Italian defence group last month, told the FT that German participation in the Global Combat Air Programme would delay the project but bring longer-term benefits."}],[{"start":36.05,"text":"“If you wanted to bring a new nation now, with the same rights as the other three, this would be a little bit disruptive,” he said, but “the long-term benefits are clear.”"}],[{"start":46.05,"text":"Mariani said that while existing GCAP partners had already agreed a division of work after difficult negotiations, Leonardo and the UK’s BAE Systems had previously worked successfully with Airbus’s German-based defence division on the Eurofighter Typhoon."}],[{"start":62.599999999999994,"text":"“I would be glad if some of the German industrial complex joined our activities,” he said. “These programmes are always very demanding in terms of investment. Normally they absorb more than you foresee at the beginning. So having another partner with both money and industrial competence would be good.”"}],[{"start":79.25,"text":"Mariani said he was not surprised by the collapse of the €100bn Future Combat Air System project, after Berlin pulled the plug following several attempts by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to push Airbus and Dassault to resolve their differences."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":96.4,"text":"He added that while political leaders had been the driving force behind the project, FCAS had struggled at an industrial level."}],[{"start":104.10000000000001,"text":"“You can start politically, but if the industry doesn’t find the right commonalities, the right objectives, the sharing of work, it is really difficult,” he said."}],[{"start":113.00000000000001,"text":"The German government and Airbus have indicated that Germany is seeking either to lead a new project or to join an existing one if its role is “substantial” and corresponds to “Germany’s financial contribution”."}],[{"start":125.30000000000001,"text":"Japan has been reluctant to admit new partners, as it seeks to avoid delays and meet GCAP’s target of having a fighter jet in service by 2035."}],[{"start":134.45000000000002,"text":"Germany’s potential interest comes amid uncertainty over the UK’s financial commitment to the project after John Healey resigned as defence secretary this month, criticising the government for being “unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats”."}],[{"start":151.10000000000002,"text":"Mariani said he remained confident about the UK’s continued participation. “Combat air is a segment that is so important for the UK that they will never abandon the priority,” he said. “It’s important for the nation, for the way the nation is geographically located and it’s important for its industrial competence.”"}],[{"start":169.60000000000002,"text":"He said bringing Germany into the project at this stage would require intensive negotiations."}],[{"start":175.25000000000003,"text":"A veteran of the Italian defence industry, Mariani was chosen by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government last month to replace former Leonardo chief executive Roberto Cingolani."}],[{"start":186.15000000000003,"text":"Cingolani’s focus on next-generation military technology had impressed investors, but was met with scepticism by armed forces officials who felt he paid insufficient attention to the need to rapidly increase production of conventional weapons such as tanks."}],[{"start":202.35000000000002,"text":"Mariani said Leonardo was accelerating its manufacturing capacity, hiring thousands of new employees, expanding its production sites and working to overcome supply-chain bottlenecks."}],[{"start":221.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782110786_6978.mp3"}