Concept art of a Next Generation Fighter (NGF) controlling a collection of UAVs. (Airbus Defence on Twitter)
MILAN and BARI, Italy — Though the sixth-generation FCAS fighter jet may be dead before it got off the ground, Germany and France plan to salvage the tech side of the joint effort and cooperate on “realistic” projects in the future, according to German officials.
In a statement to Breaking Defense late Monday, the German government officials confirmed media reporting that leaders in Berlin and Paris have acknowledged the “reality” that plans for the long-troubled fighter must be scrapped, as industrial partners just could not see eye to eye.
“[French] President [Emmanuel] Macron and [German] Chancellor [Angela] Merkel have reached the shared conclusion that the companies involved in building a joint fighter jet cannot reach an agreement,” the officials said. “Chancellor Merkel has therefore advised President Macron not to pursue the construction of a joint fighter jet any further.”
However, the officials said the two European powers would attempt to salvage what it called the “core” of the broader project: the next-gen data-sharing “system of systems” aspect.
