LONDON: The Japanese and British governments said Tuesday that they will jointly develop a fighter jet sensor, in addition to their collaboration on a future fighter jet engine.

According to the British government’s announcement, the joint sensor development will begin in April, and the public and private sectors of the two countries will take around five years to design and build the sensor. The project will involve the British unit of major Italian defense equipment firm Leonardo.

The cutting-edge sensor technology known as “Jaguar” will be used for the envisioned sensor, expected to “enable the Armed Forces to better detect future threats from air, land and sea, quickly and accurately locating targets and denying surveillance technology operated by our adversaries,” the British government said.

Japan and Britain are respectively developing their next-generation fighter jets, planning to deploy them in the mid-2030s.

“We are proud to work ever closer with our partners in Japan to ensure both our Armed Forces remain at the forefront of military innovation,” British Minister for Defense Procurement Jeremy Quin said in the statement.

JIJI Press