Overview
- Airbus declared the Système de combat aérien du futur (Scaf) effectively dead and is moving to formalize a Germany‑centred industrial alliance to pursue an alternative sixth‑generation fighter.
- Airbus plans to announce Thursday a letter of intent in Berlin that brings together eight mostly German firms to start a new development track that would replace the joint Scaf effort.
- France says it has sunk €2.5 billion into Scaf and that about half of that spending funded work France considers fully sovereign, which it will use to continue national development toward a 2040 fighter.
- The project broke down over who would lead and who would do what industrially, with Dassault insisting it can build a fighter end to end and Airbus arguing for shared development, leaving unresolved questions about capability and who holds critical technologies.
- Shifts in the security context since 2022, especially heavy drone use in Ukraine, have changed military needs and put pressure on budgets, meaning the split could force hard choices about costs, potential partners and the future of European defence cooperation.