On May 21, at the 2025 Tokyo Military and Police Defense Exhibition, Japan's largest defense equipment exhibition, the “Global Combat Air Program” jointly promoted by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy unveiled its next-generation fighter model for the first time. GCAP is Japan's next-generation fighter program. The next generation fighter is positioned as a “sixth-generation fighter,” focusing on high-performance sensors, stealth, and networked combat, aiming to surpass the American F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters represented by the fifth-generation aircraft. The model on display this time is 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, which is about one-tenth of the actual model. Compared with the original conceptual model, the main wing, rear fuselage, and tail have all changed greatly. The wing is larger than the previous version and was changed from the “Lambda Wing” to the “Triangular Wing”. This shows that compared to previous models focusing on aerial combat agility, the design focus of this type of fighter will be more biased towards improving range, speed, and payload.

On May 21, at the 2025 Tokyo Military and Police Defense Exhibition, Japan's largest defense equipment exhibition, the “Global Combat Air Program” jointly promoted by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy unveiled its next-generation fighter model for the first time. GCAP is Japan's next-generation fighter program. The next generation fighter is positioned as a “sixth-generation fighter,” focusing on high-performance sensors, stealth, and networked combat, aiming to surpass the American F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters represented by the fifth-generation aircraft. The model on display this time is 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, which is about one-tenth of the actual model. Compared with the original conceptual model, the main wing, rear fuselage, and tail have all changed greatly. The wing is larger than the previous version and was changed from the “Lambda Wing” to the “Triangular Wing”. This shows that compared to previous models focusing on aerial combat agility, the design focus of this type of fighter will be more biased towards improving range, speed, and payload.