German Defense Industry Pushes for Independent Next-Generation Fighter Jet Development Without France

The German defense industry is pursuing a next-generation fighter jet development project without France.

Eurofighter jets are flying at the Lage Air Base within Rostock-Lage Airport in Germany. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

According to the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel on June 9 (local time), Airbus recently sent a letter to the German government together with seven defense and aerospace companies: MBDA, Hensoldt, Diehl Defence, Regaer, MTU Aero Engines, Autoflug, and Rohde & Schwarz. It is reported that they expressed their intention to form a consortium for the development of a new fighter jet.

As the European next-generation fighter jet joint development project, which Germany, France, and Spain had been conducting together, has effectively collapsed, German companies are now seeking their own independent path.

Except for MBDA, a European joint venture in which Airbus holds the largest stake, and the Swiss company Regaer, most of the participating companies are German. Airbus Defence and Space, the defense division of Airbus, is also headquartered in Germany.

It has been reported that these companies delivered their related plans to the German government even before the German and French governments officially announced the suspension of the joint fighter jet development. German companies are reportedly open to the possibility of cooperating with Swedish defense company Saab. However, Der Spiegel explained that the chances of collaboration with the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which is being jointly pursued by the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan, are low due to differences in fighter jet specifications.

In Germany, dissatisfaction with the existing joint development project has grown since last year, following claims that French defense company Dassault demanded 80% of the project's stake and design intellectual property rights. As a result, within Germany, there has also been discussion of acquiring additional F-35s from the American company Lockheed Martin as an alternative to fill the gap until the next-generation fighter jet is developed.

Germany and France agreed in 2017 to develop the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a manned and unmanned integrated weapons system centered on sixth-generation fighter jets, combat drones, and a combat cloud. Spain joined the project in 2019.

Germany and France plan to suspend the joint fighter jet development but continue with the remaining projects, such as drone systems. However, with the collapse of what was one of the largest weapons projects in Europe, some interpret this as the start of full-fledged competition between Germany and France in the European defense market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.