After FCAS Collapse, Germany Weighs Joining GCAP or Launching Its Own Fighter Program
Lorenzo Mariani said Germany joining the project could add funding and expertise but risks delaying the 2035 first-flight target. The remarks followed the Monday collapse of the rival French-German FCAS program.
Defense NewsLeonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said Wednesday that Germany could join the Italy-Japan-UK GCAP fighter program, bringing extra cash and know-how, but warned that a new partner might push back the 2035 target date for the aircraft’s first flight. Mariani spoke after the French-German Future Combat Air System program collapsed on Monday following months of disputes between French and German industry over work share on the sixth-generation jet.
Italy, Japan and the UK are developing the rival GCAP aircraft and aim to fly it by 2035.
“It would be a good thing in terms of capabilities and cost sharing, but one also has to be mindful about the target date of 2035 for having the jet flying,” Mariani told Defense News. ” Mariani said Europe cannot afford too many sixth-generation fighter programs.
“Europe cannot have too many sixth-generation fighters under development, this is neither affordable nor helps Europe’s competitiveness,” he said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke on Tuesday and listed three options for Germany’s future fighter needs after the FCAS collapse, which was first planned in 2017. The options include buying more F-35s, joining an existing international program, or launching a new program under German leadership with Airbus and other partners.
Japan is reportedly nervous about any slippage of the 2035 deadline, given the UK’s current difficulties raising new defense funding.
Airbus is considering a potential link with Sweden’s Saab for a next-generation fighter, Reuters reported Wednesday. Stockholm has kept its options open for a successor to its Gripen aircraft, with only exploratory studies completed so far.
