By the end of the year, Germany and… France decide whether and how they Development of the air combat system FCAS continue. They have now postponed the decision indefinitely. “Contrary to the original planning, a final decision on the continuation of the FCAS project has not yet been made by the end of the year,” a government spokesman told the dpa news agency when asked. What will happen next with the project is still completely open. “We cannot give a new date for a decision at this point,” wrote the government spokesman.
The armaments project is intended to… European fighter jet of the future produce. FCAS stands for “Future Combat Air System”. The air combat system is intended to fly in conjunction with unarmed and armed drones and is therefore more than just a combat aircraft. It is said to be the one used by the Bundeswehr Eurofighter and replace the French Rafale from 2040. With an estimated total cost of three-digit billions, FCAS would be the largest and most expensive in Europe Armaments projectif it were implemented.
The decision on this had already been postponed once. The reason for the renewed postponement, now for an indefinite period of time, is “the comprehensive Franco-German agenda in foreign and security policy issues, which has not yet made it possible to address the issue of joint combat aircraft at the level of the President and the Federal Chancellor,” wrote the government spokesman.
Dispute over shares held by Dessault, Airbus Deutschland and Indra
Originally, Germany and… France until the Franco-German Council of Ministers at the end of August Toulon decide whether to pursue the FCAS plans. Nothing came of it. Terminated shortly before the deadline Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) announced that the decision would be postponed until the end of the year. At the time, both sides were determined to stick to the deadline this time. They justified this with planning security.
The main source of controversy is the question of whether and how the participating companies Dassault (France), Airbus Germany and Indra (Spain) share technologies for which they claim intellectual property rights. Dassault wants to acquire 80 percent of the project and justifies this with its technological advantage. On the other hand, the German side expressed the expectation in the summer that Dassault would “stick to the existing agreements,” according to which the companies should have an equal share.
If FCAS were to fail, it would have significant consequences not only for German-French arms cooperation, but also for the relationship between the two countries as a whole. It is unclear when the next steps for clarification will take place.
