Overview
- Berlin confirmed the year‑end target was missed and set no replacement date for the Future Combat Air System decision.
- The German government cited a crowded Franco‑German foreign and security agenda that kept Macron and Merz from addressing the file.
- Talks remain stuck over company roles, intellectual property and leadership, with reports that Dassault seeks roughly 80% control against expectations of balanced participation with Airbus Germany and Spain's Indra.
- FCAS is envisioned as a next‑generation air combat ecosystem linking a new fighter with drones and a Combat Cloud, intended to replace Eurofighter and Rafale around 2040 at an estimated triple‑digit billion‑euro cost.
- Coverage notes growing risk the venture could fail, with specialist discussions of a two‑fighter compromise and speculation about a possible German turn to the UK‑Italy‑Japan GCAP program.