Germany, France Scrap €100 Billion Fighter Jet Project After Months of Deadlock

3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 8

Merz and Macron agreed last week to abandon the core fighter element of the Future Combat Air System after concluding months of talks could not break the impasse, two German officials said.
The €100 billion programme had stalled over control, technical specifications and sharply different military requirements for the aircraft, with Germany questioning the need for a manned, nuclear-capable carrier-capable jet.
Airbus, representing Germany and Spain, and France's Dassault Aviation had failed to bridge those differences despite repeated efforts by both leaders to salvage the project launched in 2017.
Officials are now discussing a face-saving arrangement that would keep the FCAS name for remaining systems such as the secure 'combat cloud', even as the flagship fighter is dropped.
The collapse ends one of Europe's most ambitious defence projects and highlights the difficulty of rebuilding military capacity after decades of underinvestment.