End for FCAS: fighter jet project by Germany and France has failed

Why the FCAS fighter jet is failing

After long disputes, the billion-euro armaments project for a German-French fighter jet has failed. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have come to the shared assessment that Dassault and Airbus cannot come together on the project, German government circles said. "They acknowledge this reality."

Merz therefore advised Macron not to pursue the construction of a joint fighter aircraft any further. The Élysée Palace said both regretted that the industrial companies had not succeeded in reaching agreement on the continuation of the project. France remains of the view that German-French cooperation is necessary for both countries as well as European partners in the area of defense and security.

FCAS is not completely off the table

The "Future Combat Air System" project is therefore not completely over. According to information from German government circles, what is to be continued is the joint networking of different weapons systems such as aircraft, drones and sensors in a so-called "Combat Cloud."

In mid-July, the defense ministries of Germany and France are to present a "contemporary work plan" for defense-industrial cooperation at a joint cabinet meeting. This is to be "focused on a few realistic relevant projects." On the German side, the failure after a long stalemate is also seen as an opportunity to focus more strongly again on what is essential in security policy.

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How Merkel and Macron launched FCAS

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron gave the starting signal for the prestigious project in July 2017. Most recently, however, the ideas of Airbus and Dassault about the capabilities of a future fighter jet diverged widely.

Dassault claimed an oversized share of the project and the leadership. From the German side, by contrast, it was expected that Dassault would "adhere to the existing agreements." According to these, the companies involved were to be included equally. Even before that, there had repeatedly been disputes over the industrial division.

Why the decision was postponed several times

The political decision on FCAS was postponed several times. At a meeting on the sidelines of the Western Balkans summit in Montenegro, Macron and Merz now agreed to pull the plug. In addition to Germany and France, Spain is also involved in the project with the manufacturer Indra.

For Germany and France, the failure is politically a severe setback. Both countries like to present themselves as the motor of Europe. Macron has for years insisted on European sovereignty and joint armament projects. The fact that, of all things, the most ambitious European armaments project to date is failing with a close partner because of industrial policy disagreements runs counter to the desired signal of European unity.

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What requirements burdened FCAS

If realized, FCAS would have been the largest and most expensive European armaments project. The air combat system was planned as more than a fighter aircraft and was to fly in conjunction with unarmed and armed drones. It was intended to replace the Eurofighter used by the Bundeswehr and the French Rafale from 2040 onward. The total costs were estimated at more than 100 billion EUR.

As a core problem, Merz had recently also cited differing requirements. France needs in the next generation a nuclear-capable and an aircraft carrier-capable fighter aircraft. The Bundeswehr currently does not need this.

With whom Germany could now cooperate

Germany will now probably look for new partners for the development of a new fighter aircraft. A cooperation with Sweden and the defense company Saab is conceivable. The new NATO country is experienced in military aircraft construction and faces a situation comparable to Germany's.

Great Britain would have been a natural partner. The existing alliance in the construction of the Eurofighter, which the British call Typhoon, could have served as a basis. However, Great Britain is already linked together with Japan and Italy in the Global Combat Air Programme.

How politics is reacting to the end of FCAS

The defense policy spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Thomas Erndl, welcomed the halt of the German-French project as a “groundbreaking and right decision.” He said: “The expertise in military aircraft construction exists in Germany. German industry can and must now prove its capabilities.” Cooperation with other partners should be examined promptly.

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The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Siemtje Möller also called the decision “not surprising and only consistent.”

FDP European politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann regretted the decision. “Such projects can only succeed on equal footing. France’s industry claimed a dominant leadership role, Germany was supposed to join in. That was no longer a partnership model.” Merz’s decision to pull the emergency brake had not been wrong.

Criticism came from the Greens. Party leader Franziska Brantner told Handelsblatt it was a severe setback for European security and defense policy. “Where industry blocks, it is the task of politics to show leadership and enforce it,” she said. “If things go badly, in the end there will be no European modern fighter aircraft at all, or only one with an American engine. That is negligent.”

With material from dpa