The next-generation aerial combat system FCAS should be terminated, said one German MP with the country\u2019s air force in his portfolio, one week before France, Germany, and Spain meet to decide the project\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
The \u20ac100 billion Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is on the brink of failure due to a dispute between Paris\u2019 Dassault Aviation and Berlin\u2019s Airbus Defence.<\/p>\n
Trust has been so damaged that \u201cterminating FCAS is likely the only functional solution to the existing problem,\u201d said centre-right MP Volker Mayer-Lay, who is the German parliament\u2019s rapporteur for the air force.<\/p>\n
French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz each promised to decide the project\u2019s future by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
Mayer-Lay\u2019s statement<\/a> reads that a controlled end of FCAS would allow for a genuine fresh start. \u201cThe Franco-German friendship will survive this \u2013 but German industry<\/a> will not survive a further delay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing to do now is to get moving again after the standstill,\u201d the CDU politician told Euractiv.<\/p>\n His social-democrat colleague Christoph Schmid agreed that \u201cGermany cannot afford to lose valuable years while other countries rapidly develop their capabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n France\u2019s prime contractor, Dassault Aviation, demanded a dominant role<\/a> in developing the sixth-generation fighter jet, even saying it would rather go it alone<\/a> than work with Airbus Defence.<\/p>\n The initial agreement between Berlin, Paris, and Madrid had Dassault leading on FCAS\u2019 fighter jet project, while Airbus would head its drone and AI cloud aspects \u2013 the so-called \u201csystem of systems.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the Germans oppose Dassault dictating all aspects of the jet\u2019s development, notably the selection of suppliers.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who behaves in this way demands subordination. Anyone who pushes others aside is not looking for partnership,\u201d Mayer-Lay said, stating that power games and national vanity are paralysing the project.<\/p>\n When asked if there is room for France and Germany to each establish a sixth-gen fighter jet, Mayer-Lay said three projects would be \u201cat least one too much\u201d. The UK, Japan, and Italy, are also pressing on with their own \u2018GCAP\u2019 project.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, further cooperation or knowledge transfer can take place in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n