Europe’s fighter jet dream crashes: France, Germany abandon FCAS programme

France and Germany have abandoned plans to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet, dealing a major blow to European defenсe integration efforts and exposing deep divisions within the continent’s military-industrial sector.

The decision effectively ends the fighter aircraft component of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a flagship project launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafale and Germany’s Eurofighter fleets by around 2040. The collapse follows years of disputes between French aerospace company Dassault Aviation and Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space over leadership and industrial control of the programme, according to POLITICO.

"President [Emmanuel] Macron and the Federal Chancellor [Friedrich Merz] have come to the shared conclusion that the companies involved will not be come together to build a joint fighter jet. They acknowledge this reality," a German government official told POLITICO on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

"Federal Chancellor Merz has therefore advised President Macron not to pursue the development of a joint fighter jet any further," the official added.

The breakdown marks a significant setback for French President Emmanuel Macron’s long-standing vision of strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and reducing reliance on the United States for defence capabilities. It also highlights the challenges European nations face in coordinating large-scale military programmes despite growing concerns over Russia’s security threat and uncertainty about future U.S. commitments to Europe.

The FCAS programme, which also included Spain, was designed as a comprehensive military system combining a next-generation combat aircraft, drones and a digital combat cloud linking sensors, satellites and weapons platforms into a single networked battlefield system.

Later on June 9, the French presidency acknowledged that Airbus Defence and Space and Dassault Aviation had failed to bridge their differences. In a statement, the Élysée suggested the decision to halt the fighter jet project came from Berlin, saying that "the German authorities concluded that it was not possible to place further pressure on the companies in question. France remains of the view that Franco-German cooperation is essential for both our countries and for our European partners in the field of defence and security."

Despite the collapse of the fighter aircraft element, Germany indicated that cooperation on other FCAS components could continue.

"The core of FCAS is to be continued as a European system of systems. This is, in a sense, the nervous system that networks aircraft, drones, and other components into an integrated whole," the German official said.

According to the official, the French and German defence ministries will now work on a new roadmap for industrial cooperation "focused on a few realistic, relevant projects."

The fighter jet project had faced mounting difficulties for years. Tensions escalated when Dassault sought to take sole leadership of the aircraft’s development, reducing Airbus to a subcontractor role.

Airbus opposed the proposal, arguing it undermined the multinational character of the programme and effectively transformed it into a French-led project funded partly by Germany and Spain.

The two governments also disagreed on key military requirements. France favored a lighter aircraft capable of operating from aircraft carriers, while Germany pushed for a larger platform optimised for air-superiority missions. Berlin later proposed developing two separate variants, an option rejected by Paris.

The demise of the fighter jet component follows broader struggles affecting several European defence initiatives. Joint French-German projects involving next-generation tanks, maritime patrol aircraft and artillery systems have also encountered setbacks, while other multinational defence programmes have faced delays and political friction.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Macron reportedly made a final attempt to rescue the project earlier this year, but negotiations failed to resolve the underlying industrial and strategic disagreements.

Berlin informed Airbus of the decision on June 9. German media indicate that Merz is expected to formally announce the end of the fighter jet project during the opening of the ILA air show in Berlin on June 10.

By Sabina Mammadli