Germany sets mid-April deadline for troubled fighter project with France

Dassault Aviation SA

19/03/2026 08:15

BERLIN, March 19 (Reuters) - The German government has set a mid-April deadline for reaching an agreement with France on the crisis-hit ‌FCAS fighter programme, a government official said on Thursday.

"Germany and France have agreed on a final attempt at mediation between the industries, to be carried out by experts," the official said.

"Due to the upcoming decisions on the federal budget, a result must be reached by mid-April," they added.

The news comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and ​German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met late Wednesday ahead of a March 19-20 EU leaders' summit.

Plans to develop a futuristic air combat system together with Spain are hanging by a thread amid a public dispute over control between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which ​represents Germany and Spain in the 100-billion-euro project.

Macron co-launched ​the project with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017, with Spain joining later.

 (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Madeline Chambers)

 ((friederike.heine@thomsonreuters.com;))