Germany and France have halted development of the FCAS fighter jet
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has officially confirmed the cancellation of the joint German-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, which aimed to develop a sixth-generation European fighter jet.
According to the head of the German Ministry of Defense, the decision was the result of long-standing disagreements between key industrial partners in the program, which could not be resolved.
“The fact that the end of FCAS has come now was not a surprise. It has been clear for quite some time, at least since December, following yet another very intensive attempt to reach an agreement, which I led here at the ministry,” Pistorius stated during a press conference.
The minister emphasized that the project, which was considered one of Europe’s most ambitious defense initiatives, did not withstand the test of reality.
“It was an ambitious, large-scale European project that has now come up against reality. We will have to live with that. But this in no way changes our relationship with France,” he emphasized.
According to Pistorius, Germany has been exploring alternative ways to develop a new fighter jet for several months and is consulting with potential partners.
“As for the new fighter jet, we’ll see which path we take next. We’ve also been negotiating with various parties on this for several months,” the minister noted.
He also reported that the leadership of Germany and France had made significant efforts to preserve the program.
“Both Friedrich Merz and I have been holding talks with Dassault and Airbus—intensively, in bilateral and multilateral formats. Macron, for his part, has also been trying. The decisive obstacles could not be overcome, or the industry was unwilling to overcome them,” the head of the German Defense Ministry stated.
Pistorius emphasized that the history of FCAS should serve as an important lesson for future international defense projects.
“This should serve as a lesson for us going forward: new projects of this scale, designed to last for many years, require a clear structure for an industrial consortium. Just like with Airbus. There were also difficulties at the start there, but today the system is working. And we must clearly take this lesson into account,” the minister emphasized.
The FCAS project was launched by Germany and France in 2017, and Spain later joined it. The program envisaged the creation of a sixth-generation fighter jet utilizing stealth technology, unmanned platforms, and digital network integration.
The new aircraft was expected to eventually replace the Eurofighter and the French Rafale, with the total cost of the project exceeding 100 billion euros.
Pistorius made these remarks during a joint press conference with Olaf Liese, Prime Minister of the federal state of Lower Saxony, following a state government meeting at the German Ministry of Defense.
Germany and France are considering suspending or effectively winding down their joint defense project to develop the next-generation FCAS fighter jet. The initiative, which had been in the works for several years and involved billions in funding, has encountered serious difficulties during implementation. Due to disagreements between the parties, the project, which was supposed to become a key element of future European defense aviation, is now at risk of collapse.
Earlier, Russia announced that it had begun construction of the first flight prototype of the promising Su-75 Checkmate fighter jet, which had long remained only at the design stage. The UAC corporation says the aircraft is being developed both for its own military and for export, but the timeline for its debut has already been postponed several times.
