Overview
- The leaders acknowledged problems with the Franco‑German‑Spanish project but said it will not be abandoned and outlined a joint decision before moving into Phase 2.
- Friedrich Merz cited differing national requirements and additional demands from Dassault as key points of contention.
- Emmanuel Macron framed the outcome as a credibility test for efforts to standardize European defense programs and signaled a political obligation to deliver results.
- FCAS aims to field a next‑generation combat aircraft around 2040 to replace Rafale and Eurofighter within a networked ‘Combat Cloud’ linking jets, drones and other systems.
- Core industry partners are Airbus, Dassault and Spain’s Indra, while analysts warn the project still faces a real risk of collapse and no detailed settlement has been disclosed.