Manufacturers have finally reached an agreement for the expensive and complex European combat aircraft project, after more than a year of tussle between Dassault and Airbus, concordant sources indicated on Friday (November 18th). “After intense negotiations, an agreement between manufacturers was reached for the next phase of the program” of the Future Air Combat System (SCAF), the German Ministry of Defense said in a statement released in Berlin.
“The political agreement on FCAS is a big step forward and – especially in the current international context – an important signal of the excellent cooperation between France, Germany and Spain”reacted the French presidency in a press release, stressing that “France assumes the role of project leader”.
“We can confirm that discussions between industry and governments on the next phase of FCAS have been successful, which represents a major step forward for this flagship European defense programme.reacted for its part the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Now, a number of formal steps in the respective countries must be completed in order to allow a quick signing of the contract with which we will have to comply. »
Disagreements between Airbus and Dassault
Launched in 2017, the Future Air Combat System (SCAF), which also includes drones, is supposed to enter service by 2040. At the end of August 2021, the three countries concerned, France, Germany and Spain, had signed an agreement providing for 3.6 billion euros of detailed studies to launch in 2025 the construction of a demonstrator in flight.
But the contracts had not been signed for lack of agreement on the sharing of tasks between the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation and its main partner, Airbus. Airbus and Dassault could not agree on the distribution of tasks on pillar 1 – the combat aircraft itself – the last of the nine pillars of the program on which discussions between manufacturers stumbled. But Airbus had expressed Monday its optimism about an agreement before the end of the year with Dassault.
This essential agreement for the continuation of the program comes as French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is expected on November 25 in Germany, where she will meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This visit will be an opportunity for Paris to put some oil in the cogs of the Franco-German engine which had seized up on energy and defense issues.
Evoked cost of 100 billion euros
The SCAF program is a “system of systems” which revolves around the plane with accompanying drones, all connected, via a “battle cloud”with the other military assets involved in an operation.
It is supposed to replace the French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighter in 2040. The total cost of the program – some 100 billion euros mentioned – is such that it is not possible to carry it out on a national scale, but on a European scale, underlined its promoters.