Overview
- The Scaf project has been officially abandoned earlier this month after Germany withdrew and Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed the end, and Airbus is preparing an alliance of eight mostly German firms to pursue a rival sixth‑generation fighter.
- Industrial disputes over leadership and workshare drove the breakdown, with Dassault insisting on French lead control and Airbus, backed by Germany and Spain, pressing for near‑equal partnership.
- Shifting strategic needs after Russia’s 2022 invasion and the rise of drones undermined the programme’s original concept by changing operational priorities and making a single shared design harder to justify.
- France has already spent about €2.5 billion on Scaf development and says it will keep sovereign work alive, but analysts and officials warn France lacks the budget to build a full sixth‑generation fighter alone without new partners or major budget changes.
- The collapse highlights a recurring pattern of stalled Franco‑German defence projects and raises near‑term questions about who will fund and export future systems, whether European industry can re‑align, and how long next‑generation capabilities will be delayed.