DefenseDassault Calls for Clear Leadership in FCAS Fighter Program
Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier has urged for clearer program leadership in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint Franco-German-Spanish initiative to develop a sixth-generation combat aircraft integrated with autonomous drones.
Speaking at its mid-year earnings report, Trappier voiced concerns that Airbus’s involvement in decision-making continues to complicate proceedings and delay progress.
Although Dassault is officially tasked with designing the piloted core fighter—one of the key pillars of FCAS — Trappier said that critical design decisions still require approvals from “all three countries,” complicating the process.
They say Dassault is the leader, but all decisions must be taken between the three,” he said. While not threatening withdrawal, he warned that the program’s future depends on structural changes: “It’s not about leaving FCAS but deciding if it will continue.”
Trappier also denied reports suggesting Dassault aims for 80% program control, budgeted at over 100 billion euros ($ 117 billion). According to the German publication Hartpunkt, the French government would have proposed the new division to German and Spanish partners, in what was challenged.
Since its launch in 2017 under French and German leadership, FCAS has been marked by repeated tensions between Dassault and Airbus, despite an agreement announced in 2022.
The debate continues ahead of an upcoming summit in Berlin between President Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where the project’s governance is expected to be addressed.
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