Germany and France scrap landmark next-generation fighter jet project

Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and France's Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the termination of the FCAS, or Future Combat Air System programme, at a joint press conference in Berlin. Pistorius said unresolved disputes between Airbus and Dassault Aviation, particularly over piloting cooperation and intellectual property sharing, were the main cause. Lecornu added that the strategic cultures of the two countries had not converged.

French government officials said Dassault would redirect resources toward a national-project upgrade of the Rafale F5 fighter. Berlin officials said they had begun talks with the UK, Italy and Japan over their GCAP programme. Spain's role through its Airbus subsidiary in the FCAS programme has become unclear.

The head of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, Jan Pie, said the decision represented a deep fracture for the sector and damaged Europe's strategic autonomy goal. Airbus shares dropped 1.3% in Paris trading to 165 euros. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, commenting on the alliance-capacity consequences in a Brussels statement, said the loss of the programme was regrettable.