DefenseFrance establishes 80% stake in European 6th generation fighter program - reports
France could put an end to the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) program thanks to its excessive ambition to control 80% of the project that includes a 6th generation fighter, a collaborative combat drone and an air combat cloud.
Budgeted at more than 100 billion euros (US$ 117 billion), the FCAS was launched in 2017 by France and Germany and was later joined by Spain.
However, in these eight years, disputes over the division of the business, which includes manufacturers Dassault, Airbus and Indra, as well as other smaller companies, have delayed the schedule that was supposed to produce the replacement for the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.
The new chapter in the saga was revealed by the German publication Hartpunkt and confirmed by Reuters. According to sources, Emanuelle Macron’s government intends to have around 80% of the company’s shares.
The split would mean that the German and Spanish partners would only have a symbolic stake, which could end the program, according to analysts.
The new impasse occurs after Dassault and Airbus did not agree on the leadership of the project, which was only resolved in December 2022.
Europe divided again
FCAS itself has already emerged amid controversy, as the initial aim was to unite European countries around a joint project capable of rivaling the 6th generation fighters of the United States and China.
But a split soon occurred, pitting France and Germany against the United Kingdom and Italy, which later, with Japan joining, launched the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), with similar requirements.
Despite the consensus that only a single program could muster the investment needed to produce the stealth aircraft and its associated systems, power struggles, influenced by the astronomical sums, seem to prevent any broader understanding.
And this is happening while Russia threatens European stability, the United States is considering reducing its support for NATO and China is making great strides in stealth technology, with two new state-of-the-art fighters.
The situation is reminiscent of the 1980s when the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain joined forces around the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter and France decided to fund the competitor Dassault Rafale alone.
It will not be surprising if something similar emerges in the coming years.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
