France and Germany scrap FCAS fighter project
The office of Emmanuel Macron confirmed that France and Germany are ending the fighter-aircraft core of the Future Combat Air System after Dassault Aviation and Airbus failed to settle control of the New Generation Fighter. The programme, launched politically in 2017 and later joined by Spain, was meant to field a connected sixth-generation aircraft, drones and combat cloud around 2040. Its collapse does not end European defence cooperation, but it weakens the most symbolic attempt to pool high-end air-combat technology at the moment when the European Commission says the EU must strengthen its defence industrial base and reduce dependence on external suppliers. For Belgium, which joined FCAS as an observer while buying F-35s from the United States, the lesson is direct: European strategic autonomy depends less on declarations than on workshare, procurement discipline and shared military requirements.
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About this story
Future Combat Air System, or FCAS/SCAF (Franco-German-Spanish air-combat programme launched in 2017), was designed as a networked future air-warfare system. New Generation Fighter, or NGF (the planned sixth-generation crewed jet at the centre of FCAS), was intended to replace France's Rafale and Germany's and Spain's Eurofighter fleets around 2040. Dassault Aviation (French aircraft maker and Rafale producer) sought prime authority over the fighter design. Airbus Defence and Space (European aerospace group representing German and Spanish industrial interests in FCAS) wanted a more balanced industrial role. Indra Sistemas (Spanish defence-technology company) was Spain's national coordinator. Combat Cloud (the secure data layer linking aircraft, drones and sensors) remains a possible area for cooperation. SAFE, or Security Action for Europe (EU defence-loan instrument adopted in 2025), is meant to finance joint procurement. Global Combat Air Programme, or GCAP (UK-Italy-Japan sixth-generation fighter project launched in 2022), is the main rival European-adjacent fighter track.
How to read this story
The history
France and Germany launched the FCAS track in 2017, Spain joined in 2019, and Phase 1B contracts followed in 2022 to prepare demonstrators. Earlier European air projects show both the promise and limits of cooperation: the Eurofighter Typhoon tied several states together but left France outside, while France kept the Rafale national. The 2010 Lancaster House Treaties created a Franco-British defence framework, yet the later UK-led Tempest/GCAP path developed separately. The European Commission's 2024 defence industrial strategy then framed Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a reason to rebuild EU defence-industrial readiness.
The geopolitics
The collapse lands during a wider reassessment of US reliability, Russia deterrence and European industrial capacity. The European Commission's defence strategy links readiness to Russia's war against Ukraine, while NATO allies still rely heavily on US nuclear deterrence, command infrastructure and advanced aircraft. FCAS shows that autonomy is not only a budget question; it is also a governance and trust problem.
Why now
The story is timely because France and Germany have now ended the shared fighter core after company mediation failed and political pressure could not settle the Dassault-Airbus dispute over leadership, workshare and technology control.
What to watch
Watch whether France, Germany and Spain preserve FCAS work on drones, Combat Cloud and sensors; whether Belgium clarifies its observer role; and whether EU defence-loan rules steer future projects toward genuinely shared European procurement rather than parallel national tracks.
Regional impact
At EU level, the failure undercuts a flagship example of the European Commission's push for collaborative and European defence investment. At Belgian federal level, it affects Defence and industry policy because Belgium had attached itself to FCAS as an observer while planning its fighter transition around the F-35. Brussels is affected institutionally rather than locally: EU and NATO headquarters will remain central to the policy debate, but no Brussels regional service or commune faces a distinct operational change.
Local impact
The most local Belgian effect is on the aerospace and defence-supply community around federal procurement, including companies that hoped observer status could help them enter FCAS work packages. There is no immediate change for residents near Belgian air bases, because Belgium's operational fighter transition remains centred on the F-35 rather than FCAS.
International angle
The main cross-border issue is Europe's ability to build high-end defence systems without defaulting to US platforms. FCAS involved France, Germany and Spain, touched Belgium through observer status, and sat alongside EU instruments such as EDIS and SAFE. Its failure pushes the European debate toward smaller coalitions, more targeted procurement and possible links with GCAP.
What this means for you
Nothing changes immediately for Belgian households or serving pilots, but defence choices made now shape future public spending, industrial jobs and alliance dependence. Belgian readers should expect the debate to move from one flagship fighter to more practical questions: which European systems Belgium can buy, build or co-finance, and where US-made capability remains unavoidable.
What happens next
France and Germany are expected to decide which FCAS elements can survive without the shared fighter core, especially the Combat Cloud, drones and software architecture. Belgium will have to watch whether its observer status still offers industrial access. At EU level, attention could shift toward SAFE-backed procurement, EDIP negotiations and whether Germany or Spain explores alternative links with GCAP.
Potential consequences
The most likely consequence is a more fragmented European combat-air market. France may protect a national or smaller-coalition fighter path, while Germany and Spain could seek alternatives or salvage non-aircraft FCAS pillars. Belgian firms may find fewer entry points into one flagship programme but more opportunities in drones, sensors, cyber-secure communications and EU-funded procurement. The risk is that US systems remain the default for urgent capability gaps.
Opposing perspectives
- French defence-industrial camp (Dassault Aviation)
Dassault Aviation's position, as reflected in the dispute over prime authority, is that a sixth-generation fighter needs a clear design architect and protection of core intellectual property. This camp would argue that splitting authority for political balance risks producing a slower, compromised aircraft and weakening France's existing Rafale-based know-how.
- German and Spanish industrial camp (Airbus Defence and Space)
Airbus Defence and Space's position is that a trinational programme cannot be credible if the central fighter work is dominated by one national champion. This camp would argue that European autonomy requires shared technology, workshare and production capacity, otherwise partner governments are asked to finance a project without adequate industrial return.
- European Commission defence-policy camp
The European Commission's EDIS framing argues that the wider lesson is not to abandon cooperation but to make it more collaborative, European and resilient. From this view, FCAS failed as an industrial-governance problem, while instruments such as SAFE and EDIP remain tools to push member states toward common procurement.
- Capability-first security analysts
Analysts cited in the research argue that Europe's immediate need may be less a prestige fighter for the 2040s than scalable air defence, drones, ammunition, secure communications and command systems. This view treats the FCAS collapse as damaging symbolically, but not necessarily decisive for near-term deterrence.
Timeline
- 2017-07-13·France and Germany launched the political basis for a future combat air system.
- 2019-06-17·Spain joined the FCAS programme at the Paris Air Show.
- 2022-12-16·Industry partners launched Phase 1B contracts for the Next Generation Weapon System.
- 2023-06-19·Belgium joined FCAS as an observer.
- 2024-03-05·The European Commission presented the European Defence Industrial Strategy.
- 2026-06-08·Emmanuel Macron's office confirmed the Franco-German fighter-project termination.
Glossary
- FCAS/SCAF
- Future Combat Air System, a Franco-German-Spanish programme for a next-generation connected air-combat system.
- NGF
- New Generation Fighter, the planned crewed sixth-generation aircraft at the centre of FCAS.
- Combat Cloud
- A secure data and command layer intended to connect fighters, drones, sensors and other military platforms.
- EDTIB
- European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, the EU term for Europe's defence companies, technologies and production capacity.
- SAFE
- Security Action for Europe, an EU instrument designed to finance joint defence procurement through loans.
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.