London - Britain, Italy and Japan awarded a £4.6 billion ($6.14 billion) contract to industry ⁠joint venture Edgewing to build the new Global Combat Air Program fighter jet, the U.K. government said on Friday, advancing the project to the next phase of development.After nine months of delays over its squeezed military budget, Britain ​committed on Tuesday £8.6 billion over four years to GCAP, providing ‌its share ‌of the funding for the tri-nation project as part ​of efforts to boost defense.“The Global Combat Air Program will give our pilots a cutting-edge stealth fighter jet. Signing this £4.6 billion contract alongside ⁠Italy and Japan is a major step forward towards delivery,” Luke Pollard, Britain’s minister ⁠for defense readiness, said in a statement.