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The UK, Japan, and Italy have agreed to work together to build one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world by 2035. This will be the first time three countries have worked together on a military project. The goal is to increase their defense capabilities so they can deal with growing security threats from China and Russia.

The Global Combat Air Programme is being made at the same time as a competing project between France, Germany, and Spain, which has been hampered by political and business problems between the partners.

Under the agreement reached on Friday, the UK and Italy will combine their existing Future Combat Air program, called Tempest, with the F-X project that Japan is working on. The three countries will split the costs of development, which are expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars. The exact amounts that each country will pay will be decided after a joint review of costs and national budgets.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the three countries said, "By working together in a spirit of equal partnership, we are sharing the costs and benefits of this investment in our people and technologies." "Most importantly, the program will help all three countries continue to be able to design, deliver, and improve cutting-edge air combat capabilities on their own."

The deal, which took years to work out, is something Japan has never done before. It has always worked only with US partners to get big military equipment, but it has been trying to strengthen security ties with a wide range of allies to get ready for a possible war with China over Taiwan.

The fighter jet is also part of Japan's growing defense goals. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said this week that the government plans to set aside 43tn ($315bn) for its five-year defense budget, which is a 57% increase from the previous period.