How aviation giants Dassault and Airbus failed to share the FCAS fighter 0 10

The leaders of Germany and France agreed not to continue the landmark project for the development and construction of a next-generation fighter. This was reported by officials, conceding to industrial disputes regarding Europe's most ambitious defense program, Reuters writes.

According to German officials, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed this problematic project in the corridors of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro last week and concluded that there is no prospect of breaking the months-long deadlock between the defense companies involved in the plan.

Therefore, Merz advised Macron not to continue working on the creation of a joint fighter. "Macron's office stated that both leaders discussed the project in detail and expressed regret that the main industrial partners - the European aerospace group Airbus, representing Germany and Spain, and the French company Dassault Aviation - could not reach an agreement," the publication adds.

This decision came at a time when Western military officials warned of a growing threat from the Russian Federation, while the United States is increasing pressure on Europe to rearm.

"Macron launched this project together with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017 and defended it for several months. His office stated that France considers Franco-German cooperation in defense necessary for both countries and their European partners," the material reminded.

However, the failure to reach an agreement on the €100 billion project, which also involves Spain, highlights the difficulties Europe faces in restoring its military capabilities after decades of underfunding.

"This is unlikely to be an ideal signal for either Washington or Moscow," noted Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the IISS think tank.

In particular, the IG Metall union stated that it welcomes the decision to halt the project, emphasizing that it has been clear for several months that Dassault and Airbus would not be able to cooperate on equal terms.

"I would like to thank Friedrich Merz for this difficult but necessary decision, which aligns with the interests of Germany as an aviation hub and the interests of workers," said Jürgen Kerner, deputy chairman of IG Metall, in his statement.

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) was to consist of a next-generation weapon system (Next-Generation Weapon System, NGWS) as well as other future air assets. Components include remotely piloted drones and a next-generation fighter (New Generation Fighter, NGF) - a planned sixth-generation fighter that may replace the French Rafale and the German-Spanish Eurofighter. A test flight of a prototype was expected around 2027, with operational deployment around 2040. According to Airbus, the first test flight of the FCAS fighter along with a swarm of drones, all of which are interconnected through an information technology "combat cloud," was scheduled for 2028-2029.