The Future Air Combat System (SCAF) will be capable of transporting atomic weapons and operating from an aircraft carrier, “prerequisites for France”, he assured on Friday at the Elysée the day after an agreement that unlocks the ambitious European project of combat aircraft.
It will also have the “purpose of being on board the aircraft carrier”, a “prerequisite for France”, according to the same source. This means that Germany and Spain accept that the mass and dimensions of the future device are compatible with its evolution from an aircraft carrier.
Discuss details up to the last minute
The program had been blocked since the end of August 2021, but the agreement reached between Dassault Aviation and Airbus on the main pillar of the future combat system, that relating to the aircraft itself, now allows the French General Directorate of Armaments (DGA), project manager, to notify the industrialists of the phase 1B contract.
Given the number of companies involved in this “extremely ambitious project, it is normal for manufacturers to be able to discuss details until the last minute before the agreement is signed,” Elysée commented. In each of the program’s seven pillars, the industry leader first signed “several hundred subcontracts” with his partners, particularly SMEs.
Phase 1B, with a total amount of 3,600 million euros between 2023 and 2025 distributed between France, Germany and Spain, refers to studies for a flight demonstrator.
A phase 2, which remains to be negotiated, will provide for construction and flight tests, in 2029, according to Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier, an industry leader in combat aircraft. These tests were previously scheduled for 2027, but were delayed due to lock-in between manufacturers. The Elysée wants to be “optimistic” and says to “expect a first demonstrator flight by 2028”.
Source: BFM TV
