The UK indicates a contract for the trinational Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) will be signed by the end of the month amid uncertainty over the project because of political infighting in London.

Details of the upcoming contract emerged following talks between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, who is visiting Britain as part of a European tour ahead of the G7 summit. The UK and Japan, along with Italy, have embarked on the GCAP program to field a fighter in the coming decade.

According to a press release issued ahead of the meeting, the two leaders were expected to confirm their “shared commitment” to GCAP and discuss the launch of the next phase through the contract.

The announcement follows a torrid week for UK defense in which the defense minister and a more junior minister in that department resigned over what they viewed as the government's unwillingness to make meaningful commitments on defense spending despite the growing threat from Russia.

Defense Secretary John Healey departed after being presented with a budgetary settlement put forward by the UK Treasury that would only allow defense spending to rise to the equivalent of 2.68% of GDP by 2030. That would represent only a slight increase on the 2.6% that the UK is expected to reach next year, and well short of NATO targets of 3%. Healey said the limited funding made available for the government’s long-delayed Defense Investment Plan would result in a reduction in readiness of the armed forces.

It is unclear whether that settlement included the money required to fund the GCAP program. Earlier this month reports in the UK suggested the Treasury would take responsibility for the GCAP program’s funding in a bid to avoid cost overruns.

The program could also be treated as a larger government project, not unlike the renewal of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

Italian and Japanese officials had expressed concern that the UK's slow pace in securing funding for GCAP could delay its development. Japan wants the platform to enter service in 2035.

In April, Edgewing, the trinational prime contractor for GCAP—a joint venture of BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co.—was awarded a £686 million ($917 million) contract for design and engineering activities to sustain operations through June 30.

The GCAP program aims to develop a next-generation combat aircraft that will go on to replace the Eurofighter Typhoons flown by Italy and the UK and the Mitsubishi F-2s flown by Japan, with service entry planned for the latter half of the 2030s.