France and Germany scrap joint fighter jet project
· Michael West
France and Germany were unable to continue their fighter jet project as German authorities decided it was not possible for the companies involved to continue, French officials say.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the project in Montenegro last week and concluded there was no way of breaking months of deadlock between the arms firms involved in the plan, the officials said.
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Both leaders agreed that the countries involved in the project known as Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, would continue to develop a related drone system and data network, sources said.
They added that Merz and Macron had come to the joint conclusion that Dassault and Airbus were unable to agree on the construction of the jet.
“The German authorities considered that it was not possible to put further pressure on the companies concerned,” the Elysee said in a statement.
“The French authorities will continue to encourage our companies and armed forces to explore ways and means of pursuing ambitious European projects that are consistent with our national security interests,” it added.
The project, which centres on a core fighter jet supported by drones and linked by a classified “combat cloud,” had been in doubt for months as the two sides have wrangled over specifications and control.
Merz has openly questioned whether developing a manned sixth-generation fighter jet still made sense for his country’s air force, and said Germany did not need a nuclear-capable jet that could land on an aircraft carrier.
with DPA