Leonardo CEO says deadline for new country to join GCAP should be next year

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 22 (Reuters) - Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said if another country is going to join the British, Italian and Japanese GCAP fighter jet programme it needs to happen by the end of 2026, with 12 months from now being the final deadline. 

There has been mounting speculation that the founding countries in the Global Combat Air Programme could open the door to Germany after a rival ​Franco-German fighter programme collapsed in June, while Saudi Arabia has long been touted as another potential partner.

Leonardo is working on developing the new jet with BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Mariani stressed that while the decision was one for the three governments, the clock was ticking from an industry perspective, given the 2035 target for GCAP to be flying.

"My personal opinion 2026...maximum one year from now," he said on Wednesday when asked in an interview at the Farnborough Airshow about a deadline for countries joining. 

Mariani said Germany would be a suitable partner given its expertise, its growing military budget and the fact that it already works on the Eurofighter Typhoon with the UK and Italy, but some executives have warned that adding new partners could lead to delays.  

"I think, I believe, there is still an interest of Saudi to be part of this programme," he added. 

GCAP has been set up to allow differing levels of involvement and it expanded for the first time on Tuesday, when Canada signed up as an observer, which could pave the way for deeper engagement in future. 

Japan is particularly focused on the timeline given the security threat from China and as it is due to start retiring its F-2 fighters in the middle of the next decade.

Mariani said the 2035 timeline could even be brought forward.

"Now there has been a request, and let's say push, to even anticipate that date, so this is priority number one," he said. 

(Reporting by Joe Brock, Sarah Young and Giulia Segreti; Editing by Sharon Singleton)