Germany does not need the same fighter jets as France, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, February 18, signalling that Berlin could abandon a flagship joint defence project for Europe.
“The French need, in the next generation of fighter jets, an aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons and operating from an aircraft carrier. That’s not what we currently need in the German military,” Merz told the German podcast Machtwechsel.
The Future Combat Aircraft System (FCAS) program was launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafale jet and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain by 2040. Yet the scheme, which has been jointly developed by the three countries, stalled last year, as France’s Dassault Aviation got into heated disputes with Airbus Space and Defence over control of the project.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, in response, that he “remains committed to the success” of the project. “The military needs of the three participating states have not changed, and these needs included from the outset French [nuclear] deterrence as well as the other missions of the future aircraft,” the Elysée Palace said in a statement while Macron was travelling in India.
“Given the strategic stakes for Europe, it would be incomprehensible if industrial differences could not be overcome, especially as we must collectively demonstrate unity and performance in all areas concerning its industry, technology, and defence,” it added.
German minister says France is their ‘closest partner’
Discord over the FCAS has stoked concerns that French-German ties are under strain, following recent disagreements on defence spending and on French efforts to derail an EU trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries.
Germany’s foreign minister also sought, on Wednesday, to shut down talk of worsening relations with France, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Paris remains Berlin’s “closest partner and most important friend in Europe.”
Failure to get the FCAS off the ground would also be a blow to broader efforts by European NATO allies to demonstrate tight defence cooperation in the face of threats from Russia and doubts about American security commitments.
‘At odds’ over the FCAS
Airbus is Germany’s lead contractor for the FCAS, while Spanish defence contractor Indra Sistemas is also involved with the roughly €100 billion ($118 billion) FCAS project.
Merz had previously pledged a decision on FCAS by the end of last year, but has postponed making the final call. France, meanwhile, has continued to insist the project is viable.
Merz said on the podcast that France and Germany were now “at odds over the specifications and profiles” of the kind of aircraft they needed. “The question now is: do we have the strength and the will to build two aircraft for these two different requirement profiles, or only one?” he asked.
If this issue is not resolved, he said Germany would “not be able to continue the project,” adding that there were “other countries in Europe” ready to work with Berlin. For Germany, and potentially Spain, several other options have been floated by industry sources and in media reports, most prominently a partnership with Swedish aerospace firm Saab.
One or two fighter jet models?
The FCAS project was launched with fanfare by Macron and Germany’s then-chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017, with Spain joining two years later. The plan envisions not only a fighter jet but an interlinked drone swarm and a digital cloud system.
German industrial interests and some politicians have bristled at Dassault’s alleged efforts to revise FCAS agreements and take greater control of the aircraft portion of the project.
The powerful IG Metall industrial trade union, which represents many Airbus workers in Germany, has joined with German aerospace industry leaders to back a split with France. Juergen Kerner, IG Metall’s vice president, joined German Aerospace Industries Association president Marie-Christine von Hahn last week in urging Berlin to find new partners on the fighter jet.
Building separate jets could make military sense because of France’s very particular requirements, but would almost certainly hike overall costs.
Dassault’s CEO, Eric Trappier, has insisted that his company can develop a fighter jet alone. However, the costs could put the French government’s already strained budget under further pressure.
Germany, on the other hand, has launched a massive military investment programme with vows from Merz to build Europe’s largest conventional armed forces.