The stalemate deepened last summer when Dassault, the maker of France’s Rafale fighter, pushed to take the lead in building the FCAS fighter. Airbus would be treated as a subcontractor with limited visibility into the design, while Dassault would be able to select suppliers, decide on sharing out the project work and act as the sole interface with customers.
Airbus rejected the approach as a fundamental break with the joint agreement that launched FCAS, arguing it would turn a European cooperative program into a French-led fighter supported by German and Spanish funding and industrial competencies.
By September, POLITICO reported that Berlin was starting to look for other options, including teaming up with Sweden or joining the rival GCAP program.
Adding to the industrial dispute, Paris and Berlin also differed over the fighter’s weight, with France wanting a lighter jet for aircraft carriers, while Germany pushed for a heavier one for air-superiority roles. Eventually, Berlin proposed building two aircraft — an option Paris rejected.
In March, Merz and Macron agreed to give the project one last chance, but those talks failed to overcome deep differences.
On Monday, the German chancellery informed Airbus of the decision to pull the plug. According to La Tribune, Merz will make the decision official on Wednesday at the opening of the ILA air show in Berlin.
Laura Kayali reported from Paris. Clea Caulcutt contributed to this report from Paris.
This article has been updated.