Berlin (AFP) – A group of companies led by Airbus is set to present their plan for a next-generation fighter jet in Berlin on Thursday, hoping to replace the Franco-German FCAS project that was scrapped this week. The eight-company alliance, dubbed “Team Gen 6,” plans to hold a signing ceremony at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) outside the German capital, Airbus told AFP on Wednesday.
Their project aims to replace the long troubled Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, which was abandoned on Monday by Berlin and Paris after months of tension between the two main manufacturers, Airbus and France’s Dassault. The collapse of FCAS, which also involved Spain, comes at a time when Europe is rushing to build up its defences against a hostile Russia and amid strained defence ties with NATO partner the United States under President Donald Trump.
Berlin has not yet committed to an alternative aircraft project to FCAS, with a government spokesman on Wednesday stating only that “as one door closes, others open.” The eight companies have already sent a position paper to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius outlining their vision for the new jet, Airbus said. The paper, seen by AFP, calls on the German government to ensure “a complete and timely awarding of contracts by the second half of 2026.”
In addition to Airbus, the alliance includes the European missile manufacturer MBDA and six German firms: Hensoldt, Diehl Defence, MTU Aero Engines, Liebherr, Autoflug, and Rohde & Schwarz. The position paper emphasises the need for Germany’s defence industry to innovate, especially in the wake of the FCAS programme’s collapse. FCAS, launched in 2017 by France and Germany and joined by Spain in 2019, had been considered a flagship project of European defence cooperation.
The multi-billion-euro project aimed not only to build an advanced warplane but also to create an integrated array of unmanned drones and a sophisticated combat computer system to link the pieces.
Pistorius told reporters on Tuesday that the eight-company project “is conceivable and one possibility.” But he added that Germany is also weighing other options such as purchasing more American F-35 fighter jets or joining other ongoing aircraft development projects. Long-simmering problems with the FCAS project came to a head in the summer of 2025, as Dassault made an aggressive push to take greater control of the programme. That led to tensions in Berlin and among executives at Airbus, who feared being squeezed out of contracts.
Sharply different requirements for the French and German military had also complicated the project. The FCAS programme was intended to eventually replace France’s Rafale jets and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain, with the first planes expected to enter service around 2040. France wants its next-generation jets to be able to operate from its naval aircraft carriers and potentially carry French atomic weapons. Germany, which does not have an aircraft carrier or its own nuclear arsenal, has been looking for a more conventional ground-based fighter.
This divergence in military needs has led some aerospace experts to wonder whether separate fighter jets might be a better solution, although that would likely add costs, posing a potential problem for France’s already strained government budget. Officials have suggested that, although the FCAS aircraft is being abandoned, other parts of the effort, such as the drones or cloud computing system, might continue as a shared platform for multiple future European fighter jets.
© 2024 AFP
