BAE Systems and Bombardier are to work together on next-generation combat air capabilities, as Canada steps up its involvement in future fighter programs.
Under an agreement made this week, the two companies will identify areas of collaboration spanning aircraft and mission-system design, systems integration, digital engineering, advanced manufacturing, research and development, supply-chain and workforce development, and long-term support and sustainment. The first steps will establish a framework for practical cooperation and to assess future opportunities.
The agreement follows Canada’s decision in July to become the first observer nation in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the effort by the UK, Italy and Japan to field a sixth-generation fighter by 2035. BAE Systems is a lead industrial partner on GCAP, whose crewed Tempest demonstrator is in final assembly in the UK ahead of a planned first flight in 2027.
Canada’s observer status, announced on 21 July, is tied to its Defence Industrial Strategy and carries no immediate funding or purchase obligation, according to the Canadian government. Defence analysts have described the BAE–Bombardier agreement as Canada’s first GCAP-related industrial agreement since it joined.
Simon Barnes, group managing director of BAE Systems’ Air sector, said, “This agreement marks an important step in our ambition to strengthen international partnerships that support the future of combat air.”
Stephen McCullough, Bombardier’s executive vice president of engineering, product development and Bombardier Defense, said, “This provides a clear framework to explore how these capabilities can support next-generation defence programs, while strengthening industrial capacity, high-value jobs and long-term aerospace leadership.”
Bombardier, whose business jets are used as platforms for military special-mission aircraft, has been expanding its defense business. The company said its engineering talent and global manufacturing footprint position it for programs that could have a generational impact on the defense industry.
For BAE Systems, the move extends a combat-air portfolio that includes the Eurofighter Typhoon and its role as a GCAP partner, under which scale models have been tested in its Warton wind tunnels and the demonstrator is being prepared for flight testing.
