June 11, 2026, 5:27 p.mJune 11, 2026, 5:27 p.m
After the joint Franco-German fighter jet project FCAS ended, eight defense companies are ready to develop a new fighter aircraft. As “Team Gen 6”, the defense division of Airbus, MTU, Hensoldt, MBDA, Autoflug, Diehl Defense, Liebherr, as well as Rohde and Schwarz want to take part in the development.
The Franco-German FCAS project is history.Image: AFP
“We must not waste any time, we must assume responsibility on the German side, show the ability to act and consistently continue on the path to an airborne networked weapon system with a strong claim to leadership,” says a position paper by the companies that was published as part of the International Aerospace Exhibition ILA in Berlin.
The declaration of intent was reportedly planned before the final FCAS failure and had already been handed over to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, according to one of the companies involved. It was important to the companies that the end of FCAS was clearly stated before the new cooperation agreement.
No agreement between Airbus and Dassault
FCAS stands for “Future Combat Air System”. Germany and France agreed on the project in 2017. However, the companies Dassault and Airbus were unable to agree on a common line in the negotiations. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of the billion-dollar fighter jet project this week after long disputes.
On Wednesday, Merz emphasized at the ILA that part of FCAS would be continued – namely the so-called “Combat Cloud”, through which a wide variety of weapon systems are to be networked.
The joint fighter jet was actually supposed to replace the Eurofighter in Germany and the Rafale jets in France. A gap could now arise until new European combat aircraft are available. For Germany, this could be filled by purchasing additional F-35 jets from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Cooperation with Spaniards and Swedes likely
It is still unclear how the development of a new fighter aircraft will proceed in detail. In a statement, Airbus and its seven cooperation partners emphasized their desire for multinational cooperation – and already referred to a similar initiative in Spain. “The Spanish industry is also forming close ties with the German partners with the companies Indra, Airbus Defense and Space, Grupo Oesia, GMV, ITP and Sener,” it said.
The most likely possibility is that “Team Gen 6” and the Spanish companies are seeking a collaboration with the Swedish manufacturer Saab. The new NATO country Sweden is considered to be experienced in building military aircraft. The desired new jet is referred to in the industry as a sixth-generation fighter aircraft – which is also what the name of the corporate alliance alludes to.
No decision yet on a replacement solution
“There will have to be a bridge solution and there will have to be a solution for afterwards,” said Defense Minister Pistorius on the sidelines of a visit to the NATO military command in Brunssum, the Netherlands. “We will now discuss what this looks like in concrete terms over the next few weeks and then decide very quickly. “I can’t tell you exactly when that will be,” said the SPD politician. (hkl/sda/awp/dpa)