Stop or? The German government must decide quickly whether to continue the development of the Fuche Future Aviation Aviation project (SCAF – Future Air Combat System) with France, German Defense Commission, on the eve of high -level discussions on the subject, told Reuters Christoph Schmid.
Germany criticizes the French industry for blocking the next phase of development of the SCAF program by demanding to lead the project alone, the German Ministry of Defense in a document said Tuesday. The differences could compromise the launch of the second phase, namely, the development of protesters capable of flying, which was initially planned at the end of this year, according to sources of defense.
Political discussions and industrial tensions
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will receive the German Friedrich Merz chancellor on Thursday at his summer residence in Brégançon Fort, in the VAR. Ministerial discussions will take place on Friday in Toulon. “If we do not have a decision in Toulon to enter phase 2, everything will become more and more difficult,” said Social Democrat Christoph Schmid on Wednesday.
The SCAF project, whose cost is estimated at more than 100 billion euros, has experienced delays since the announcement of its launch in 2017, due to intestine disputes in the exchange of tasks and intellectual property rights between France and Germany, as well as among their respective national industries.
Dassault Aviation, Airbus, which represents Germany, and the Spanish Indra, are the main industrialists involved in the project, whose objective is to replace the French rafale and the German and Spanish Eurofighter of 2040 with a combat plane of a new generation.
A situation that recalls in the mid -1980s, when France leaves the European aircraft project, a project initiated with Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom (which will create Eurofighter) and launches the development of the Rafale. The abandonment of the project by the Germans could serve as the basis for examining other options for the development of combat aircraft in the mid -2030s, he added.
Clarify responsibilities
On the French side, the CEO of Dassault Aviation Éric Trappier repeatedly punished the exchange of tasks and supplicates a clear leadership, with the risk of endangering the program, as he reiterated during the press conference of semensual results in July: “He quotes me a single example of an ambitious industrial project in the world where there is no leader.”
The German and French defense ministers had agreed in July the organization of a specific meeting at the SCAF, which will be held next October, it is said in BFM Business.
Source: BFM TV
