Overview
- Germany and France declared the joint FCAS sixth‑generation combat‑jet programme finished last week after nine years of work and repeated industrial disputes.
- The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank programme remains officially active but is under intense pressure from industry warnings and reports that France may cut its funding to less than half of earlier plans.
- Industry figures say the four MGCS partners have so far received only about €25 million, a sum tiny compared with the project's needs and one that would force cuts to capability or cause delay if budgets shrink.
- Berlin and Paris say MGCS will now focus on core research, development and demonstrations for manned and unmanned armoured platforms in a platform‑independent way, while German firms prepare a national 'Leopard 3' transition option.
- The twin failures expose deeper problems in European defence cooperation—company disputes over leadership, patents and know‑how plus fragmented national priorities—and leave officials and firms watching budget decisions, governance fixes and industrial sharing as the next tests.