Airbus welcomes UK fighter funding vow; aims to continue collaborative discussions

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 16 (Reuters) - European aerospace giant Airbus on Monday welcomed Britain's plans to invest heavily in a new fighter jet capability, and said it looked forward to continuing collaborative discussions with other European players.

Britain on Monday said it would invest 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) to 2025 to develop a fighter jet called Tempest that could be used with pilots or as a drone, and said it was open to partnering with other countries on the project.

"Airbus ... is encouraged to see the (UK) government's financial commitment to the project which supports the goal of sovereign European defence capability," the company said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing collaborative discussions in this area with all relevant European players." (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter)