He went! On Friday, France and Germany announced the conclusion of an agreement between Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defense and Space, the two industrial partners in the project of the future European combat aircraft. This new episode comes after months of discussions that cast doubt on the outcome of the show.
“After intensive negotiations, an inter-industrial agreement could be reached for the next phase of the program” of the Combat Air System of the Future (SCAF), the German Defense Ministry said in a press release issued in Berlin.
• What is Scaf?
SCAF (System for Combat Air of the Future) is not a single aircraft, but a global system. It revolves around an aircraft (the NGF, Next Generation Fighter) equipped with a suite of next generation weapons and a swarm of drones. This device is connected, through a “combat cloud”, with the other military means (land, air and sea) involved in an operation.
• What is a sixth generation aircraft?
The NGF is a sixth generation aircraft. It is intended to gradually replace the Rafales in French service and the German and Spanish Eurofighters from 2040.
The sixth generation aircraft will be stealthy, that is, undetectable by radars and satellites. They will also be connected to a Cloud and will allow you to pilot a swarm of drones for reconnaissance or to carry out attacks.
For this, a cabin will be created. A prototype was presented last year by the Defense Innovation Agency (AID), whose director, Emmanuel Chiva, became director general of armaments.
These devices will also have the possibility of carrying out programmed maneuvers, that is, without human assistance. Some missions could even be remote controlled or controlled by artificial intelligence.
• The cost of the program
The Scaf program represents 100 billion euros. To finance it, France and Germany brought Spain in 2019 to triple the cost of the program. In 2021, the three governments signed an agreement providing €3.6 billion for detailed studies for the construction of a demonstrator.
In 2019, Florence Parly’s entourage mentioned the desire of other European countries to join this trio, without specifying which ones. According to “the echo“, Belgium would have applied under pressure from aircraft manufacturers. According to the Belgian media, Dassault would have closed the door to the Belgians after the purchase of the American F-35 by Brussels.
Will this refusal be reviewed since Germany also signed with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of 35 F-35s? In addition, 11 European countries have placed an order to equip themselves with the American fighter.
• The calendar and industrial organization?
This project was launched in 2017 to be operational as of 2040. In the initial schedule, the first step was to start the construction of a flight demonstrator in 2025 that would take off in 2027. Once validated by the authorities of the three partner countries (the DGA for France), the industrial phase can start delivering the first devices in 2040.
With the delay of the project, will this schedule be respected? Is not safe. At the height of the contention between Dassault and Airbus, Éric Trappier, the head of Dassault Aviation, said it could take 10 more years, or 2050. He then qualified his comments.
But we will have to speed up the pace to make up for lost time. It is necessary to continue with the research and study of technology organized into five pillars. For each, there is a leading industrialist and a main industrial partner. This organization became known in 2021.
Dassault is the prime contractor for the NGF, Airbus D&S is responsible for the other sites. His German unit will pilot the drone design (with France’s MBDA and Germany’s Satnus) and the Combat Cloud (with Thales and Indra). Its Spanish subsidiary will be in charge of developing stealth technologies. The sensors are the responsibility of Indra (with Thales and the German FCMS). The engine will be designed by Eumet, the joint venture between Safran, the German MTU and the Spanish ITP.
• Who are Scaf’s competitors?
There are many, even in Europe. The UK has joined forces with Italy and Sweden to develop Tempest, another FCAS (Future combat air system). Last July, London announced that its demonstrator would be ready to fly within five years. According to the British Ministry of Defense, it will equip the Royal Air Force from 2035.
Facing the Europeans, China, the United States, India, Japan, Taiwan and Russia are working on these devices. It is a military, technological race, and therefore, in fact, an information war. Each country is discreet in what it does and spreads totally unverifiable ads because they are protected by defense secrecy. In 2020, for example, the Americans revealed that they had carried out the tests for the NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) demonstrator.
Source: BFM TV
