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Merz Questions German Need for Future Manned Fighter Jet Amid FCAS ...
Germany may leave the FCAS manned fighter jet project due to diverging needs with France, focusing instead on drones and the combat cloud, amid rising costs and industrial rivalries.
- On Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned whether developing a manned sixth-generation fighter still makes sense for Germany on the Machtwechsel podcast published on February 18.
- The FCAS faces industrial and cost pressures as France requires a nuclear-capable, carrier-operable jet, unlike Germany's needs, Merz said on the German podcast Machtwechsel.
- Last week, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the fate of the FCAS programme would become clear in the next few days, and Merz indicated Germany would explore partnerships with other countries if needed.
- Political friction followed, with Germany complaining Paris has not done enough to boost defence spending while France insists the scheme remains viable, after disputes between Dassault and Airbus stalled last year.
- Going forward, officials face a near-term deadline as Merz questioned whether Europe can build two aircraft for different profiles or only one, following the EU leaders' retreat on February 12.
55 Articles
55 Articles
The German chancellor at the Machtwechsel podcast: "The French need a jet with nuclear capacity, which can land on an aircraft carrier at the moment, the German armed forces "no" . But then the spokesman of the government blunt: "We do not want to dissolve the partnership" . Reaffirmed Berlin's no to own nuclear weapons
The German Chancellor says this is not a "political dispute" with France, but a technical issue of requirements profile that best serve the armed forces of the two countries.
Questioned in a podcast on the Scaf, the German Chancellor sent a tab to the Franco-German project, considering that the project did not meet the needs of his country.
DECRYPTAGE - Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that the needs of Germany and France diverge in the fight aviation of the future. He threatens to leave the project.
It was to become the "battle jet of the future", now the Franco-German FCAS project is about to end. How big is the damage?
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