意大利正式提议，给予德国在其与英国和日本共同开发的战斗机项目中获得观察员地位，驳斥了意大利反对柏林加入该集团的报道。
Italy has formally proposed giving Germany observer status in a fighter jet program it’s developing with the UK and Japan, rejecting a report that it opposed Berlin joining the group.
罗马、伦敦和东京正在推动全球空中作战计划，该计划旨在到2030年代中期将第六代隐形战斗机投入使用。德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯本月早些时候表示，他预计将在3月底前做出是否加入GCAP的决定，此前德国今年早些时候已放弃与法国合作的FCAS项目。
Rome, London and Tokyo are driving the Global Combat Air Programme, which aims to put a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet into service by the mid-2030s. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month that he expects a decision by the end of March on whether to join GCAP, after scrapping the FCAS project with France earlier this year.
周六早些时候，《金融时报》报道称，意大利已拒绝英国探索将德国纳入该计划的举动，称其正推动一种“低级别”的观察员地位，这将使其在飞机的设计和开发中没有角色。该报称，意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托强烈反对允许德国在该数十亿美元的计划中拥有平等角色。意大利国防部表示，《金融时报》的报道不反映该国的立场。
Earlier Saturday, the Financial Times reported that Italy had rebuffed a UK move to explore bringing Germany into the program, saying it was instead pushing for a “low-level” observer status that would give it no role in the aircraft’s design or development. The newspaper said Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto strongly opposed allowing Germany an equal role in the multibillion-dollar program. The Italian ministry of defense said the Financial Times report doesn’t reflect the nation’s position.
意大利国防部周六在一份声明中表示：“意大利一直表达其完全欢迎德国加入GCAP的意愿。”“正为了促进和加速这一进程，意大利提议德国以观察员身份加入，作为立即的计划信息共享推动者，以便随后实现正式成员身份。”该部表示，其提议并非旨在限制德国在该计划中的未来角色。
“Italy has always expressed its full willingness to welcome Germany” into GCAP, the ministry said in a statement Saturday. “Precisely to facilitate and accelerate this process, Italy proposed that Germany join as an observer, as an immediate, program information-sharing enabler towards subsequent full membership.”The ministry said its proposal was not intended to limit Germany’s future role in the program.
英国表示，任何关于向该计划新增国家的讨论都将与其GCAP合作伙伴一起进行。
The UK said any discussions on adding new nations to the program would be undertaken with its GCAP partners.
英国国防部一名发言人在一份声明中表示：“我们乐于探索其他国家未来参与的可信选项，同时保持计划按部就班，并交付我们未来的军事能力。”
“We are open to exploring credible options for future participation by other nations, while keeping the programme on track and delivering our future military capabilities,” a spokesperson for the UK ministry of defense said in a statement.
GCAP本身也面临预算压力，尽管各国领导人均表示该计划仍按部就班。
GCAP has itself experienced budget strains, though respective national leaders have maintained it remains on track.
德国防长皮斯托里乌斯表示，GCAP的替代方案是，航空航天公司空中客车SE与其他欧洲合作伙伴合作开展一项项目，目标是在2040年代初实现。
Germany’s Pistorius has said an alternative to GCAP would be for aerospace company Airbus SE to undertake a project in collaboration with other European partners aimed at the early 2040s.