The road is still long. Eric Trappier, general director of Dassault Aviation, strove Monday to put into perspective the announcement of agreements at the government and industrial level for the launch of the next phase of development of the future combat system SCAF (future air combat system) that includes in particular a new fighter plane.
And noting that no agreement between Dassault and Airbus has yet been signed, suggesting that the signing was not guaranteed to happen within the week.
“At the beginning of the process”
Although “it has advanced”, Eric Trappier warns that “we are at the beginning of the process” because at the moment it is only a matter of agreeing to carry out studies. “There are other steps back that will have to come, fly a demonstrator and then launch a development program,” he explained.
“After intensive negotiations, an agreement could be reached between industrialists for the next phase of the program” of the SCAF, however, the German Defense Ministry had indicated on November 18.
“We can confirm that the discussions between industry and governments on the next phase of FCAS have been successful, which represents a great step forward for this flagship European defense program,” Airbus had reacted. “Now, a series of formal procedures must be completed in the respective countries to allow a quick signing of the contract that we will have to comply with.”
Launched in 2017, the Air Combat System of the Future, which also includes drones, should enter service in 2040. By the end of August 2021, the three countries involved, France, Germany and Spain, had signed an agreement worth 3,600 millions of euros. in detailed studies to start the construction of a flight demonstrator in 2025.
But the contracts had not been signed due to a lack of agreement on the distribution of tasks between the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation and its main partner, Airbus in pillar 1 -the combat aircraft themselves-, the last of the nine pillars of the program on the that the discussions between industrialists were stagnating.
Source: BFM TV
