F-15 jets fly during the military review at the Ground Self-Defence Force’s Asaka training ground on October 27, 2013. (TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:27 PM PT – Friday, December 9, 2022

On Friday morning, Japan announced that they will work together with Britain and Italy to develop the next generation of fighter jets. This comes as it looks to expand defense cooperation beyond the United States.

The three nations announced the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and the planned Mitsubishi F-X fighter jet which will replace Japan’s aging F-2. The F-2 had previously been developed alongside the United States.

“We are announcing the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) – an ambitious endeavor to develop a next-generation fighter aircraft by 2035,” British, Japanese and Italian leaders said in a joint statement.

The development on the new fleet of aircrafts is set to start in 2024 and is expected to be ready for deployment in 2035.

Japan’s Defense Ministry announced that the new aircraft will be a stealth fighter with capabilities such as advanced censors and networking. The new aircraft will be beyond the American F-35 and the multinational European Eurofighter jet.

This deal will allow Japan to have greater countering capabilities to China in the region. It will also allow Britain to have a bigger presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The announcement came days after Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had set spending targets to build up his country’s military. One of his targeted included a boost in defense spending over the next five years.

In a joint statement with the Japanese Defense Ministry released on Friday, the Pentagon gave their full support to the three nations.

“The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy – two close partners of both of our countries – on the development of its next fighter aircraft,” the US-Japan statement said.

This announcement comes amid increased tensions with China, Russia and North Korea. Russia and China are allegedly thought to be pursuing a sixth-generation aircraft.

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) speaks during a United States Senate Committee on Finance hearing to consider Chris Magnus’s nomination to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on October 19, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:53 AM PT – Friday, December 9, 2022

Senator Kyrsten Sinema has registered as an Independent, shocking Democrats. The 46-year-old claimed that switching parties is a natural progression in a political career.

Although the senator from Arizona won’t declare whether or not she’s running for re-election in 2024, Sinema (I-Ariz.) did indicate in an interview that she doesn’t anticipate any changes to the Senate’s workings. She didn’t confirm if she would join the group of Independent senators who caucus with Democrats, including Senator Angus King (I-Maine). However, Sinema did mention that she will not caucus with Republicans.

“I intend to show up to work, do the same work that I always do. I just intend to show up to work as an Independent,” Sinema said.

On Friday morning, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) said on CNN that Sinema’s decision doesn’t negate the Democrats controlling the Senate.

Prior to changing her party status to Independent, Sinema faced a potential primary challenge from Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) who said on MSNBC last month that Sinema “did nothing” to support Democratic candidates in the midterm elections.

A statement was released by the Primary Sinema Political Action Committee about her decision to leave the Democratic Party.

“Today, Kyrsten Sinema told us what we’ve already known for years: She’s not a Democrat, and she’s simply out for herself. For the last year, we’ve been laying the groundwork to defeat KyrstenSinema because Arizonans deserve a Senator who cares about them, and not special interests. In one way, Sinema just made our jobs easier by bowing out of a Democratic primary she knew she couldn’t win. Now, we’ll beat her in the general election with a real Democrat.”