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Industrial disputes endanger Europe's sixth-generation aircraft
The much-hyped European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, being developed by France, Germany and Spain, is on the verge of collapse. Four European officials in Paris and Berlin told POLITICO that the chances of the project ending are now greater than its restart.
“ An announcement that the project is over is more likely than a revival ,” said an official familiar with French President Emmanuel Macron’s views. A French lawmaker involved in defense policy shared the same assessment. “The FCAS is dead, everyone knows it, but no one wants to say it openly,” he said.
The failure of this major program, which aims to build a sixth-generation fighter jet, accompanied by drones and a digital “combat cloud,” would be a serious political blow to President Macron. The project was personally launched by him in 2017, together with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as a symbol of European strategic cooperation in the field of defense.
However, the FCAS has been stalled for almost a year due to industrial clashes, fueling ongoing speculation about its future. According to sources, the collapse of the project would be a “bad signal” for Europe, which explains Macron’s efforts to save it.
Officials have declined to comment directly. The German government’s press office and the French Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment. However, French officials have publicly stated that they still hope the project will continue. The new head of the French Military Procurement Agency, Patrick Pailloux, said this week that “everything possible is being done to save the program.”
The FCAS problems highlight the difficulties of European industrial cooperation in the field of defense, at a time when the continent is trying to strengthen military capabilities in the face of Russia and a more limited American presence. At the center of the conflict is the manned fighter jet, over which the companies Dassault and Airbus have clashed sharply over direction, technology and division of labor. Dassault wants greater control over the development of the next-generation aircraft, a key component of the FCAS.
France and Germany had set a deadline of December 17 last year to resolve the differences, but it passed without any agreement. In this climate of uncertainty, Berlin is considering other alternatives. According to German government and industry sources, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has discussed the possibility of splitting the project into two national aircraft or, ultimately, Germany's complete withdrawal from the FCAS.
These ideas have also been informally communicated to French representatives, although Berlin is still looking for a way to make such a decision public. Meanwhile, attention has increasingly shifted to the rival Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), led by the UK, Italy and Japan. Two European defence officials have confirmed that Germany has been quietly exploring the possibility of joining the project.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed openness to a possible German involvement in the GCAP during a meeting with Merz last month. Following reports of this scenario, President Macron sent a letter to the German Chancellor seeking clarification on Berlin's position on the FCAS. The two leaders are expected to discuss the issue on the sidelines of this week's informal European Council.
From Berlin, German officials insist that the country wants to maintain at least some common components of the project, such as the "combat cloud" and other integrated systems, even if the fighter jet is split into two separate national platforms. / Adapted from "Politico"
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