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Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy are reportedly open to allowing Saudi Arabia to join their next-generation fighter jet initiative, but only once the project has reached a more advanced stage and key issues have been resolved, according to The Japan Times.

The Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a joint effort to develop a sixth-generation fighter, will likely remain a trilateral initiative until after the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO) and the industry-led joint venture Edgewing sign their first international contract. That agreement is expected to materialize by the end of 2025.

GIGO, officially inaugurated Monday in Reading, England, was established last year to oversee government-level coordination for the program. Edgewing, launched last month, brings together the U.K.’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo, and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. (JAIEC), and is responsible for designing and developing the aircraft.

“There is no preclusion in having Saudi Arabia join the program, but we first have to define certain criteria and clarify all the points,” one source told The Japan Times, speaking after a virtual meeting between the GCAP nations’ defense ministers on Monday.

Riyadh has been informally encouraged to build up its aerospace expertise—potentially by acquiring and assembling Eurofighter Typhoons—before entering GCAP, the sources said.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, several other countries are said to have expressed interest in joining the program. These include two unnamed European countries, as well as one Middle Eastern and one Asian nation, according to a source cited by The Japan Times.

The terms of participation and contributions of any future member states remain undefined. Any expansion of the program would require unanimous approval from Japan, the U.K., and Italy.

The GCAP aircraft will be Japan’s first major defense development with partners other than the United States and is intended to replace the aging F-2 fighter jets used by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force, as well as the Eurofighters operated by the U.K. and Italy. The new jets are scheduled to enter service by 2035.

With the conceptual design phase complete, the program is moving into detailed design and development, and a demonstrator flight is expected within two to three years.

Despite overall satisfaction with the program’s progress, some tensions remain, particularly around access to sensitive intellectual property and full technology sharing. In April, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto publicly criticized the U.K. for not fully disclosing technology to its partners in an interview with Reuters—a concern that The Japan Times understands is still unresolved.

Whether such issues will delay the program’s timeline or affect the goal of deploying the aircraft by 2035 remains to be seen.