A consortium led by Airbus has proposed to develop a next-generation fighter following the collapse of its high-profile Franco-German fighter program, one of the companies involved told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
The move comes a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron’. After years of disagreements, he ended the original project.between industrial partners.
Munich-based defence electronics company Hensoldt said it has joined forces with Airbus Defence and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defence, Rohde & Schwarz, Liebherr, MBDA and MTU Aero Engines to prepare an alternative plan.
A company spokesperson said the proposal was submitted to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius’. The Financial Times, which first reported the initiative, said the initiative was also sent to Merz’in's office.
The companies are preparing a joint position document on the “ Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the relevant Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS), ” said.
More details are expected during the announcement to be made at the Berlin ILA Air Show’ on Thursday.
EuropeA setback for ’'s defence integration
The German defence ministry confirmed the existence of the proposal. Pistorius, Berlin’in “, said ” was evaluating which direction we were going.
“We have also been discussing this issue with various stakeholders for months, ” added.
Pistorius said “ suffered from the collapse of the original Franco-German project.
I know how important French-German cooperation is in the European “, but ultimately you have to draw a line between the mind and the heart, ’ said.
The FCAS programme was seen as a flagship European defence project aimed at strengthening military co-operation at a time when the European ’ was facing increasingly tense relations with a more assertive Russia and the United States.
However, the initiative was hampered by long-standing disagreements between French Dassault Aviation and Airbus, Germany’'s leading industrial partner and a key partner in Spain’'s FCAS programme.
German partners opposed Dassault’'s efforts to gain greater control over the construction of the aircraft.
Merz also argued that Germany ’, unlike France ’, does not need warplanes capable of carrying nuclear weapons or working with aircraft carriers.
