With Japan, Britain and Italy set to begin the next phase of talks about their joint next-generation fighter aircraft next month, industry officials have said that the partners are close to completing the aircraft*s conceptual design phase as they prepare to set up the industrial entities from the year-end that will deliver the program.

※We have completed the systems requirements review, meaning that we*ve now got a common requirement set for all three countries,§ Jonathan Moreton, director of partnerships and exports at Britain*s BAE Systems, told The Japan Times.

BAE Systems is one of the three companies expected to be lead system integrators in the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), alongside Japan*s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Italy*s Leonardo, in the new joint program.