FIA 2026: Leonardo chief balances praise and caution over Germany joining GCAP
Artist’s depiction of the future GCAP aircraft. Canada has joined the programme as its first observer nation. (Image: BAE Systems)
Lorenzo Mariani’s Farnborough remarks on the prospect of Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme struck a cautious tone, as he welcomed Canada’s arrival as the programme’s first observer nation.
Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo CEO and general manager, used a media briefing at Farnborough International Airshow 2026 to set out a markedly more cautious position on German involvement in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) than the one he offered Reuters six weeks earlier.
Speaking to reporters on 21 July, Mariani said Canada’s newly confirmed status as GCAP’s first observer nation carried no real downside for the trilateral Italy-Japan-UK programme. Any nation joining “with industrial capability and financial capability” would ultimately benefit the effort, he said, since Canada’s observer role would grant it insight into design decisions without a seat in
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