FCAS on life support and may be terminal

[Zaphod58]

The joint European program known as the Future Combat Air System appears to be on life support, but may be heading to cancellation. The program was initially going to be a family of systems, including unmanned loyal wingman type systems, and a manned fighter, possibly 6th gen. Dassault was going to produce the manned fighter, which would also be carrier borne, and Airbus would produce the unmanned aircraft, and the cloud system that they would work with, while Safran produced a new engine for the new fighter. Also contracted would be Indra from Spain doing general work for the program. The concept began in 2001, and involved Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, and Sweden. In 2017, Germany and Spain asked Airbus to begin work on a new fighter design. In 2018, Dassault and Airbus announced an agreement to work on the aircraft. In 2019 Spain joined the program. In 2023 Belgium joined as an observer, with plans to join the program in 2025. 

A few weeks ago France asked Germany and Spain to reconsider work shares to keep the program on schedule. That would give Dassault a larger work share in parts of the program. They have been complaining about delays with Airbus over the fighter segment.  Airbus keeps saying that the planned 2040 full operation date is feasible, while DGA has been saying that 2045 is more likely. They have also said that they prefer the unmanned aircraft be based on the French work from the nEUROn UAV. 

Now the CEO of Airbus DS (Germany) has said that there is no longer a reason to continue with Dassault unless the agreements are respected. It appears that FCAS is heading rapidly for the scrap bin and won't go forward.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europ...r-project/

[Sky727]

all after a zillion dollars/Euros have been spent on......?

[Zaphod58]

all after a zillion dollars/Euros have been spent on......?

Design work, timelines, and negotiating workshare.

[Signal Witch]

Exactly Zaphod,
This is a warning bell for what must be resolved if FCAS hopes to meet its 2040 operational goal. The pressure is now squarely on the shoulders of Macron and Merz’s defense ministers, who’ve been tasked with breaking the deadlock by August 2025.
If they fail, we’re likely looking at fragmentation or outright collapse of the program. The stakes aren’t just industrial, they’re political, strategic, and symbolic for European defense autonomy.

[andy06shake]

I wonder if BAE Systems Tempest will ever come to fruition? 

I think the first flight of the demonstrator is planned for 2027.

[Signal Witch]

I wonder if BAE Systems Tempest will ever come to fruition? 

I think the first flight of the demonstrator is planned for 2027.

 Yep, Tempest is moving forward. BAE and its GCAP partners (UK, Italy, Japan) have confirmed the flying demonstrator is in the works and on track for a 2027 first flight. It's not the final fighter but will test key tech like stealth, sensors, and flight controls.
The full production aircraft is planned for service around 2035.

[putnam6]

I love these threads.

Business is very good for Uncle Sam, and it's MIC

Nothing wrong with it, either we live in a dangerous place in time.

[Avicula]

Any updates on FCAS? I can’t seem to find anything less than 8-10 weeks old. There was an August 2025 deadline for the Defense Ministers of France and Germany to hammer out some sort of agreement to keep it afloat. For now…

[Signal Witch]

Any updates on FCAS? 

The latest noise around FCAS makes one thing obvious: Paris and Berlin still can’t see eye to eye on how this program should be run. Even after months of talks, they remain stuck over leadership and work-share, with France pushing for near-total control of the New Generation Fighter and Germany digging in to protect its own industry. Spain is staying in the room and urging progress, but it’s Germany and France that have to settle the score.

An October meeting of their defense ministers is supposed to “unlock” the impasse, yet every sign points to another round of stalemate rather than a breakthrough. Unless they find a way to compromise before year-end, Phase 2 and the demonstrator schedule will keep slipping, and the entire project risks turning into another European case study in how not to run a joint fighter program.

[Zaphod58]

Germany is considering separating from FCAS and joining with either Sweden or the UK in their programs, leaving France to go on with FCAS. 

Germany is exploring abandoning France as a partner in a flagship fighter jet programme that was supposed to showcase European defence co-operation. In a sign of the growing rift over the Future Combat Air System, Berlin is weighing how to proceed, including working with alternative partners such as the UK or Sweden. A dispute on how to progress with the second phase of the project has thrown its future into doubt. Germany and Spain, the third partner in FCAS, could also progress the programme on their own without France, according to three people briefed on the situation.  “Better an end with horror than a horror without end,” one of the people said. “There will be a fighter [jet] with or without France.”

https://www.ft.com/content/29f56fd5-d831...6918231f09