France ready to make next-gen fighter jet alone if talks with Germany fail

PARIS — France is able to manufacture a next-generation fighter jet alone if no agreement can be found with Germany about the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a French official told a small group of reporters on Wednesday.

“If we fail to reach an agreement on FCAS, there is no need to worry about the fact that France has already built, knows how to build, and will build a fighter jet alone,” said the official, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. “Alone does not mean only in France, we could involve a European ecosystem of subcontractors.”

The French official’s comments come as tensions rise between Paris and Berlin — and imply France will not stay in the program at all costs.

POLITICO reported last week that Germany is now looking at Sweden and even the U.K. to replace France in case Paris and Berlin can’t reach a deal by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space both said they could make the next-generation fighter jet happen without each other. While Dassault Aviation does have the technical skills to manufacture a warplane, it’s unclear whether France’s public coffers are deep enough to finance it without European partners.

FCAS was launched in 2017 by France and Germany, with Spain joining the program later. It is designed to replace France’s Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon by 2040. The 2040 deadline is “non negotiable,” the French official said.

French President Emmanuel Macron could travel to Germany in early October, while defense ministers from Germany, France and Spain will meet in October specifically to discuss FCAS.

Complicating matters is that no replacement has been appointed yet for Sébastien Lecornu, who was shifted from being armed forces minister to prime minister earlier this month. He’s seen in Berlin as someone who can bring Dassault to the table.

The main issue is that Dassault Aviation wants more decision-making power to develop the new aircraft, known as the New Generation Fighter (NGF), arguing that the current management structure is likely to cause delays. 

Dassault CEO Éric Trappier conveyed that message again to French lawmakers on Wednesday. “I’m not against the project, but when Germany says it’s going to exclude France, doesn’t that bother you? … Unfortunately, today, if you don’t create a hard power dynamic, you don’t get results,” he told them.

Paris has long insisted no delays would be acceptable — among other things because the next-generation fighter jet will be part of France’s nuclear deterrent — and has also previously cast doubt on whether the current organizational structure could guarantee the project will be delivered on time.

Seemingly backing Dassault’s request, the French official told reporters that “if we put the cursor a little more on the NGF pillar and increase the French share a little, [there could be] other effects in compensation on other pillars, these are options to explore.” In other words, that other aspects of the program could be shifted to favor other partners.

Another issue is the aircraft’s weight: France would rather operate a 15-ton warplane, which is light enough to land on aircraft carriers, while Germany is more inclined toward a 18-ton aircraft aimed at air superiority. The French official argued that a heavier airplane would require a more powerful engine, and that could lead to delays.

“If we express divergent needs with Germany or Spain, we cannot afford to be months behind schedule. If the needs are divergent, we must say so,” the official said.