Italy rejected Germany's request to join as a full partner in the GCAP fighter jet program.
Italy refused Germany's request to join as a full partner in Britain, Italy and Japan's sixth-generation fighter jet program, known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), and offered Berlin observer status only. A role with no impact on design or development, the Financial Times (FT) reports.
Italy and Japan fear that a fourth partner will slow the project, which has a delivery target of 2035, and will take over parts of the work intended for their aerospace giants Leonardo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Germany has called observer status "unacceptable" and is demanding a significant industrial role in return for funding.
The postponement leaves Berlin scrambling for alternatives after its $110 billion fighter jet partnership with France collapsed in June.
Britain, which leads the GCAP programme, has shown openness to Germany but insists the timetable cannot change. According to a British official, if they get on the bus, the bus cannot slow down.