Sixth-generation fighter, the project of Germany, France and Spain in the credits Days of uncertainty for the Gcap
Marrone (Iai) on the halt to the Future Combat Air System: 'The intention to cooperate on drones and the cloud on fighter aircraft leaves time to be found. If, as seems likely, London keeps its commitments despite domestic political difficulties, the Gcap becomes more attractive to possible partners such as Canada and Germany'
by Andrea Carli
Key points
After years of preparations the Fcas project, the programme involving France, Germany and Spain for sixth-generation fighter jets, has reached the end credits. According to German government sources, in fact, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Cdu) and French President Emmanuel Macron have come to the conclusion that the companies Dassault and Airbus cannot agree on the construction of a joint fighter aircraft. On Friday, the two leaders attended the EU-Balkan summit in Montenegro. That was the occasion to take stock, at this point definitive, of the dossier. Macron and Merz agreed that the countries involved in the project known as the Future Combat Air System (or Scaf, 'Système de combat aérien du futur') will continue to develop a drone system and a related data network.
Actually, that the project was on the verge of collapse is not exactly news. For months the Fcas had been in a stalemate, due to unresolved industrial conflicts between Airbus Defence and Dassault. These tensions prevented the transition to the next phase of development. The programme remained stuck in the technology study phase.
The sinking of the Future Combat Air System
Launched in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel to strengthen European defence, at an estimated cost of around one hundred billion euros, it saw Spain join the team in 2019. Then it stopped several times due to disputes in planning and design between the French manufacturer Dassault and the Airbus group, which represents German and Spanish interests. From unofficial, now the final halt becomes 'official'. If realised, the Fcas would have been a 'system of systems' in which a piloted fighter would have operated under the cover of drone swarms and a combat cloud.
... and the uncertainties over the Gcap involving Italia, the UK and Japan
For one European sixth-generation fighter project that closes, another experiences days of uncertainty. This is the case with theGcap (Global Combat Air Programme), the programme involving the UK, Italia and Japan. It is developed by the Edgewing joint venture between BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. On 30 June, the £686 million bridging contract awarded in April by the Gcap Agency to Edgewing, the industrial joint venture created to lead the design and development of the aircraft, will expire. This bridging contract funds key design and engineering activities.
By that date, the UK Ministry of Defence must approve the Defence Investment Plan, an expenditure planning document that authorises multi-year funds for the Gcap. BAE Systems has warned that if the go-ahead for the DIP does not come by the end of the month, more than 4,000 engineers and technicians - including about 3,000 Italians at Leonardo sites in Turin, Rome, and other locations - risk being assigned to other programmes. According to sources close to the dossier, the UK's green light for the plan will eventually arrive in time.
