Source: Reference News
Reference News Network reported on September 21According to a report on the Financial Times website on September 19th, Germany is considering giving up France as a partner in a flagship jet fighter project. This project was originally intended to demonstrate European defense cooperation.
The Berlin side is considering how to advance the project, including working with alternative partners such as the UK or Sweden. This demonstrates the growing disagreement around the future air combat system (FCAS). Disputes about how to advance the second phase of the project make the future prospects of the project troubling.
Germany and Spain, a third partner in the FCAS project, could also move forward with the project on its own without France, according to three people familiar with the matter.
“Rather than end up in endless disgust, rather than end up in disgust,” said one informed person, “will there be a (jet) fighter, no matter if there is a France.”
Another informed person said it was “normal” for Berlin to explore various options in view of the uncertainty of the project and that French President Macron and German Prime Minister Marcus had previously set a deadline for resolving the crisis at the end of the year.
The FCAS project was launched by Berlin and Paris in 2017 and later Madrid joined. The project has been filled with tensions between industry partners from the outset, especially the tensions between Airbus, representing Germany, and Dassault Aircraft Manufacturing Company in France.
The idea of the project is to create a fighter jet that can work seamlessly with drones, next-generation weapons and advanced communication systems.
Dassault developed the French Rafale fighter and plays a leading role in the jet fighter part of the project. It expressed its desire to change the management structure of the project, especially the principle of "one country, one vote", and believed that it should have greater latitude in the second phase of the trial. Airbus, however, insists that all three partners agree to the current management structure.
Airbus said it remains “committed to the success of the FCAS project and complies with all the agreements reached by the project partners so far.”
Murts and Macron held a one-day summit in Turin in August, while German defense officials discussed how to resolve the internal struggle.
However, finding new partners is not easy. Britain has partnered with Bayer Systems with Italy and Japan to develop the Global Combat Air Plan (GCAP) to build the next generation of jet fighters. If the FCAS project fails, Germany may lobby for joining the GCAP. But industry experts say that due to the advanced degree of the project, it is unlikely that the two sides will establish a comprehensive partnership.