Germany is considering additional F-35 purchases after FCAS collapse
Germany and France will preserve the core “system of systems” concept underpinning the collapsed Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.
Merz said during a visit to the ILA Air Show in Berlin that neither he nor French President Emmanuel Macron had taken the decision to end the fighter jet element of the FCAS programme lightly.
After months of mediation efforts, however, they concluded that the programme’s industrial partners, Airbus and Dassault Aviation, were “unable to find common ground”, prompting both leaders to agree on Friday to terminate the project.
The defence ministers of Germany and France have now been tasked with drawing up a roadmap for future cooperation in the coming days.
