Airbus Defence chief rules out total failure of FCAS fighter jet project

Dassault Aviation SA

27/05/2026 11:26

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 AM.PA and Airbus AIR.PA, 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 
     
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 (Reporting by Markus Wacket
Writing by Madeline Chambers
Editing by Ludwig Burger)
 ((Madeline.Chambers@thomsonreuters.com; +4930220133578;))