A multibillion-euro Franco-German fighter jet project has collapsed after years of preparations, German government sources said on Monday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have come to the joint conclusion that Dassault and Airbus are unable to agree on the construction of the jet, the sources said.
Merz has therefore advised Macron not to pursue the construction of a joint fighter jet any further.
The Élysée Palace stated that both regretted that the industrial firms had failed to agree on continuing the project and stressed that Paris believes Franco-German cooperation is necessary for both countries, and for European partners, in the field of defence and security.
However, the German government sources said the joint networking of various weapon systems - such as aircraft, drones and sensors - within a so-called "combat cloud" is to continue, meaning the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme is not completely off the table.
In mid-July, the French and German defence ministries are set to present a work plan for defence industrial cooperation at a joint Cabinet meeting.
Years in the making
Then German chancellor Angela Merkel and Macron had given the go-ahead for the prestigious project in July 2017.
However, Airbus and Dassault’s visions of a fighter jet’s capabilities had recently diverged significantly.
Dassault had claimed a disproportionately large share of the project as well as the leading role. The German side, on the other hand, expressed the expectation that Dassault would "adhere to the existing agreements," under which the companies were to be equally involved. There had been repeated disputes over the division of responsibilities in the past as well.
Decision postponed several times
A political decision on the project, which also involves Spain through the Indra manufacturer, was postponed several times.
For Germany and France, who like to portray themselves as the driving force in Europe, the decision marks a bitter political setback.
Macron has for years been insisting on European sovereignty and joint defence projects. The fact that the defence project is failing due to industrial policy disagreements with one of his closest partners does not send the message of unity he would like to convey.
If realized, FCAS would have been the largest and most expensive European defence project to date. The air combat system was intended to operate in conjunction with drones, ultimately replacing Germany's Eurofighter and France's Rafale fighter jets from 2040 onwards.
The total cost was estimated at more than €100 billion ($115 billion). Germany, France and Spain had been wrangling over the project’s implementation for months.
Merz recently cited as a key problem the fact that the French require a different fighter aircraft to Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr.
He said France needs a nuclear-capable and an aircraft-carrier-capable aircraft in its next generation of fighter jets, which the Bundeswehr does not currently require.
The German side reportedly eventually put forward the option of implementing FCAS with two aircraft, which France rejected.
German conservative: "A groundbreaking and correct decision"
Thomas Erndl, the defence policy spokesman for Merz's conservatives in the German Bundestag, welcomed the halt to the Franco-German project as a "groundbreaking and correct decision."
"The expertise in military aircraft construction exists in Germany. German industry can and must now prove its capabilities," he said, calling for cooperation with other partners.
Other lawmakers criticized the decision. Leader of the German Green Party, Franziska Brantner, described the failure to reach a consensus as a serious setback for European security and defence policy.
"Where industry blocks progress, it is the task of politicians to show leadership and push things through," she told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "If things go badly, we will end up with no modern European fighter jet at all, or only one with an American engine. That is negligent."
