BERLIN — France and Germany have abandoned the Future Combat Air System joint fighter jet project. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz concluded the participating companies would not reach an agreement.
A government official said, "They acknowledge this reality." The two leaders discussed the decision on Friday during a summit between EU and Western Balkans leaders in Montenegro. Two government mediators were appointed in March to draft proposals to maintain the initiative, but they were unable to produce successful rescue proposals for the collaboration.
The Future Combat Air System was initiated by Angela Merkel in 2017 with an estimated budget of €100 billion. It was designed to replace France's Rafale jets and the Eurofighter aircraft used by Germany and Spain by approximately 2040. France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, representing German and Spanish interests, were the primary firms developing the system.
Dassault requested lead partnership status for the jet's development to protect its intellectual property. Airbus advocated for a partnership structure involving substantial technology transfers. Dassault leadership stated the company could execute the project independently and opposed a co-managed structure.
France had proposed a single European aircraft model for the programme. Germany stated its military requirements differ because French aircraft must be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and operating from aircraft carriers. Merz questioned the necessity of a crewed sixth-generation fighter for Germany's air force and stated that EU member states do not share identical military hardware requirements.
No independent assessment was available for this report.