 In 1968, Britain was invited to join Canada and the F-104 Consortium (a grouping of Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands), all of whom wished to replace their current aircraft with a common design, subsequently described as the Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA).On 26 March 1969, Panavia Aircraft GmbH was formed by BAC, MBB, Fiat and Fokker.In May, a "project definition phase" was commenced, concluding in early 1970.