Why did the German-French project to develop a new fighter jet fail?

Emmanuel Macron tried to rekindle optimism on the sidelines of a European Union summit in March. Asked about the FCAS fighter jet project, the French president told reporters that he had discussed it with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: "We decided together to try to bring Airbus and Dassault closer together again in the coming weeks."

A common path should be found "very calmly and with mutual respect," Macron said, stressing: "The strategic objective is clear and there is consensus around it among all involved."

Even then, it sounded like a last-ditch attempt to somehow avoid the impending failure of the joint fighter project. Previously, the process of finding a compromise solution had ended without success. The goal was always the same: to use political pressure to bring the two feuding industrial partners closer together again – Airbus’s military sector on the German side and Rafale manufacturer Dassault, as the French partner in the project.

Just a supporting role for the German partners?

For about a year now, relations between the industrial partners have been seriously strained. Dassault CEO Eric Trappier suddenly made it very clear that he wanted to be the sole lead partner in the project, as he said at a press conference on Dassault's business results in February: "I have said from the beginning that I want clear leadership, not just on paper."

Speaking about his German partner, he said that when they collaborate, one is better than the other, and the other learns in the process. "But while they're still learning, they don't have to immediately take the lead."

So, just some kind of junior role for the German and Spanish partners at Airbus? There has been suspicion that highly indebted France wants to retain control over knowledge and the allocation of work to suppliers, while the German partners should primarily co-finance the hundred billion euro project.

Merc is becoming increasingly suspicious.

In Germany, meanwhile, the IG Metal union has launched a campaign and openly called for a break with Dassault. At Airbus's earnings conference in February, CEO Guillaume Faury indicated that the joint fighter jet project was stalled.

"If our customers authorize us to do so, we would support a solution with two fighter jets and be ready to take the lead in such a restructured FCAS project," the French director of Airbus also said.

In recent months, it has seemed that the German side in particular has lost patience. Chancellor Merz has been increasingly skeptical, for example in February on the podcast "Mahtveksel" where he said: "The French need an aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons and operating from aircraft carriers in the next generation of fighter jets. The German Bundeswehr does not need that at the moment."

The needs of the German and French armies are different, and the requirement profiles are too different, Merc explained. That is why, he added, it will probably be necessary to eventually develop two different fighter jets for Germany and France.

Announcement from Berlin, Paris reacts later

It is therefore not surprising that the news of the failure first came from Berlin, not Paris. German government sources reported that the Chancellor had “suggested to the French President that further development of the joint fighter aircraft be abandoned”.

Confirmation from the Elysee Palace in Paris came only a few hours later. With the addition: “The German authorities consider that it was no longer possible to exert further pressure on the companies involved.”

The choice of words reveals a disagreement. The manner of communication represents the inglorious end of a failed German-French prestige project. Defense cooperation was initiated in 2017 by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-newly elected French President Macron.

Germany needs a new partner

The announcement that Airbus and Dassault will jointly develop a communications system, at least in the development of the future "Combat Cloud" system with unmanned aircraft within the framework of FCAS, sounds like a desperate attempt to save face for German-French cooperation.

Germany will now first have to look for new partners to develop the next-generation fighter jet. It remains to be seen how important highly armed fighter jets will be in the era of drone warfare.