Germany and France are in talks to scale back their €100bn Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, exploring the option of abandoning plans for a jointly built next-generation fighter jet and focusing instead on developing a shared “combat cloud” network.
The move reflects growing concern that disagreements between Airbus and Dassault Aviation have pushed FCAS — Europe’s most ambitious weapons programme — to the brink of collapse.
Fighter Jet Plan at Risk as Industrial Rift Deepens
The core dispute centres on how to jointly build the next-generation fighter aircraft. Airbus and Dassault have clashed for years over control of the design, division of labour, and supplier selection.
Dassault, which manufactures France’s Rafale fighter, has demanded greater authority over key elements of the jet’s development — something Germany has resisted. The deadlock has already delayed work on a proposed demonstrator aircraft that the three partner governments — France, Germany, and Spain — must approve by year-end.
With tensions rising, officials in both Berlin and Paris say one option is to drop the joint fighter jet entirely and narrow cooperation to the combat cloud, one of FCAS’s three main pillars.
Combat Cloud Becomes the Fallback Option
The combat cloud is envisioned as a secure, AI-enabled command-and-control network linking fighter jets, drones, sensors, radars, and ground and naval systems. It is currently a joint effort between Airbus Defence, Thales, and Spain’s Indra.
“We can live with several jets in Europe, but we need one cloud system for all of them,” said one official familiar with the talks.
A second source emphasized that most other parts of the FCAS programme are progressing well, adding: “There is no need for FCAS to founder completely — there is a need for a combat cloud.”
Shifting focus to the cloud could also accelerate timelines. One insider suggested bringing forward the target date from 2040 to around 2030, given its strategic importance.
Urgent Diplomatic Push to Save Cooperation
High-level meetings in Paris and Berlin this week aim to break the deadlock. French defence minister Catherine Vautrin is hosting German officials on Monday, followed by talks between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin is still debating “whether the project should continue and how it should continue.”
Some analysts view the situation as an unofficial separation. Carlo Masala, professor at Bundeswehr University Munich, said: “It’s like a married couple who have decided to get divorced once the children have left home.”
Dassault–Airbus Breakdown Threatens Europe’s Defence Vision
The FCAS project, launched in 2017 by Macron and then-chancellor Angela Merkel, was meant to symbolize Europe’s ambition for strategic defence autonomy, especially in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But the dispute between Dassault and Airbus has eroded trust.
- Dassault’s CEO Éric Trappier has claimed the company could build the fighter alone.
- German officials have considered replacing France with the UK or Sweden if cooperation collapses.
- French officials worry delays could undermine Paris’s nuclear deterrence, which depends on next-generation aircraft.
“There’s no more trust — each side accuses the other of breaching terms. You can’t fix that,” said a French banker close to the discussions.
Berlin Signals Readiness to Go It Alone
Germany, which recently loosened its constitutional debt cap to fund defence modernization, is reluctant to depend on a French industrial partner unwilling to compromise.
“The thinking is: ‘We finally have the money — so if we need to do this without France, let’s do it,’” said a source close to the German government.
At Airbus, staff representatives have also expressed frustration. Thomas Pretzl, chair of the Airbus Defence and Space works council, told employees he wanted to “end the strained partnership with Dassault without damaging Franco-German relations.”
Europe Still Needs a Shared Defence Cloud
Despite disagreements, both sides agree that Europe must develop its own air-defence cloud independent of US systems.
“You need a command cloud that’s not reliant on the American system. There may be situations where Europe must act alone,” a French banker said.
Officials insist the dispute is industrial rather than political. One European government source stressed: “It has nothing to do with governments — it’s about companies. But the decision must not damage relations between Paris and Berlin.”
