UK Defence Secretary Williamson to Unveil New Fighter Jet

Britain’s Defense Minister Gavin Williamson is set to unveil a model of the country’s proposed new fighter jet at the Farnborough Airshow and earmark 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) for the funding of the project, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The aircraft will, in time, replace the Typhoon fighter jet.  It will be developed and built by partners BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, and Leonardo, said the source.

The Great Britain is currently in talks with other countries in order to find more  companies that are willing to help build the jet, added the source.  Sweden is being seen as the most possible partner, even though countries such as South Korea, Turkey, and Japan, or Gulf arms-purchasing countries like Saudi Arabia are also among the options.

If the plans are to be followed, the new jet will be able to operate by 2035, ready to replace the Typhoon fleet.  The Typhoon is due to end its service in 2040.

The British-led project comes as Britain is set to leave the European Union in a shorter time than nice months.

It will face tight competition from a rival European project after France released an announcement in June that it would take a leading role on a new fighter program.  France also said that it would start as a bilateral effort with Germany that could be expanded later.

The Typhoon, on the other hand, was developed by the four-nation group in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Britain during the 1980s.

Britain has not developed a fighter jet alone since the 1960s.  On the flip side, it has helped to develop and build a huge number of advanced stealth fighter in the UK fleet, which is the US-made F-35.   Also, BAE Systems carrying out about 15 percent of the work on each jet.

Airbus and its tight rival, France’s Dassault Aviation, have struck a deal to work on the Franco-German project together.

Meanwhile, the European share market made hesitant gains on Monday.  The data that showed economic growth from China put cap on the market’s progress. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 crept 0.2 percent up, along with Germany’s DAX, which is greatly exposed to China.

Basic resources and autos were the weakest performing sectors, since they are both dependent on solid Chinese growth.  However, industrials merger speculation helped offset the overall negative impact of the data.

On the other hand, the best European performer was drugmaker  Indivior, which soared 26 percent after a US court blocked India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories from selling the generic versions of its bestselling treatment for opioid addiction in the United States.

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