Macron and Merz are aiming for one last chance for the Fcas (Future Combat Air System), the program to develop the sixth-generation fighter jet born from the collaboration between Germany, France, and Spain.
“Germany and France have agreed on one last mediation attempt between the industries” to save the Fcas combat fighter program, which has been stalled for some time due to differences between Berlin and Paris: the talks will be “conducted by experts,” with the goal of reaching “a result by mid-April.” This was stated by a senior German official on the sidelines of the EU summit, reports Ansa.
Launched in 2017, the Fcas program – estimated to be worth over 100 billion euros – is designed to replace the French Rafale and the German and Spanish Eurofighters starting from 2040. However, recently the Fcas has been the subject of a long dispute between the companies involved: the French Dassault and the defense division of the Franco-German Airbus based in Germany.
But the political will of the two countries leading the project seems to be to smooth out industrial differences: Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron discussed it in Brussels last night, on the eve of the EU summit.
All the details.
THE EFFORTS OF PARIS AND BERLIN
Thus Germany and France have agreed on one last mediation effort between the industries for the sixth-generation fighter project. And time will not be unlimited: due to imminent decisions on the federal budget, an agreement must be reached by mid-April. “Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz are making one last desperate attempt to save the joint fighter project,” comments today the Financial Times.
TO OVERCOME THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AIRBUS AND DASSAULT
The work is divided into several pillars and the controversy concerns the leadership of the main part of the project, that of the fighters, between Airbus and Dassault Aviation. Last month, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, denied that relations with Dassault had completely broken down, but seemed to turn the page on the Fcas in its current form, raising the possibility of two distinct fighters in public for the first time.
So much so that the persistent political, operational, and industrial divisions seem to have definitively compromised the initiative. For his part, the head of the French Dassault, Éric Trappier, stated that the project is “dead” if Airbus, which represents the interests of Germany and Spain in the project, refuses to cooperate.
AFTER THE STATEMENT BY THE GERMAN CHANCELLOR
The same British financial daily recalls that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government plans to spend over 500 billion euros in the coming years to modernize the German armed forces, has become increasingly frustrated with the project in recent months, even stating that the fighter might no longer meet his country’s needs.
Just last month the industrial dispute between France and Germany exploded when Merz declared on the Machtwechsel podcast that the collaboration to build a fighter with nuclear capability with France “is not what we currently need in the German army.”
“France wants to build only one aircraft and basically wants to align it with the specifications it needs. But that is not what we need,” explained the German chancellor, reiterating that “This is not a political dispute, but a real problem in the requirements profile. If we cannot resolve it, we will not be able to maintain the project.”
As highlighted by the FT, the time has come for Berlin, Paris, and Madrid to decide whether to move to the next phase as planned or to downsize the Fcas by eliminating the common jet element.
PRESIDENT MACRON’S REASSURANCES
For his part, the occupant of the Élysée has committed deeply to keeping the project alive, despite the growing tension between Airbus’s German defense division and Dassault over the division of labor.
“We have decided together to start a mission to bring Airbus and Dassault closer in the coming weeks. This must be done calmly and with respect to find common ground. But the strategic direction is clear and there is consensus among all stakeholders,” Macron emphasized upon arriving at the European Council, signaling “progress.” “The French and German armies think it makes sense, as do the manufacturers. Our task is to ensure they reach an agreement,” added the French president.
Thus Airbus and Dassault still have a month to find a solution in the Fcas project so as to move to a more advanced phase of the program.
