Airbus Defence chief rules out total failure of FCAS fighter jet project
May 28, 2026
Source: Reuters
BERLIN, May 27 (Reuters) - The head of Airbus Defence ruled out the complete failure of the crisis-hit Franco-German FCAS fighter jet project, saying at least a networking system for weapons and drone programme would go ahead.
- Plans to develop the air combat system risk collapse due to a dispute over control between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus which represents Germany and Spain in the €100-billion ($116 billion) project
- Airbus Defence chief Michael Schoellhorn said on Wednesday he saw some unbridgeable differences between Airbus and Dassault at the moment
- German, French defence ministries are working out how to move forward, said Schoellhorn. He hopes for a political decision before Berlin's ILA air show on June 10
- He mentioned options of having two different fighter jets or a new European partnership but said Germany could not take on that project alone
- Two areas of the strategic project will go ahead, said Schoellhorn - a “Combat Cloud” to network weapon systems and a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for drones to accompany fighter jets
