On June 8 (local time), German and French leaders agreed to end the new generation fighter jet development project, marking the end of a large-scale defense program once considered a symbol of European military cooperation.
German officials said that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the project on the sidelines of the European Union (EU) - Western Balkans summit in Montenegro. After the exchange, the two sides came to the conclusion that there is no longer any prospect of removing the months-long deadlock between defense enterprises participating in the program.
According to German officials, Mr. Merz has advised Mr. Macron not to continue pursuing the construction of joint fighter jets.
The French Presidential Office confirmed that the two leaders spent a lot of time discussing the project and expressed regret that Airbus, representing Germany and Spain, and Dassault Aviation of France could not reach an agreement.
The project was launched by French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017. This is the core of a 100 billion euro defense program, with the participation of France, Germany and Spain. The plan focuses on developing new generation fighter jets, supported by drones and connected through a highly secure "combat cloud" system.
The decision to stop the program was made in the context of Western military officials warning about the increasing threat from Russia, while the US is putting pressure on Europe to strengthen its defense capabilities.
A European source said that the parties are aiming for a solution to retain the development of systems outside of core fighter jets, such as the "combat cloud", under the name Future Combat Air System (FCAS). However, this solution is mainly symbolic and does not change the fact that the central part of the project has been cancelled.
For many years, Airbus and Dassault Aviation have consistently disagreed on technical requirements, control over the next development phase as well as intellectual property rights. These disputes have caused the program to fall into a prolonged deadlock.
The German IG Metall Labor Federation welcomed the decision to terminate the project. Vice President Jürgen Kerner said that it has been months ago that it has been seen that Dassault Aviation and Airbus cannot cooperate on an equal basis.
Meanwhile, Mr. Merz once publicly questioned the necessity of developing a 6th generation manned fighter for the German Air Force, and said that the country does not need a fighter capable of carrying nuclear weapons and landing on aircraft carriers.
