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Germany and Spain Form Team Gen 6 to Develop Sixth-Generation Fighter
Airbus launched the Team Gen 6 initiative on June 11, 2026, after the original Franco-German New Generation Fighter project ended. Eight German firms and five Spanish companies signed a positioning paper to advance a new industrial setup for the crewed aircraft component of the Future Combat Air System.
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Airbus Defense and Space announced the Team Gen 6 initiative on June 11, 2026, at the ILA Berlin airshow. The move follows the collapse of the New Generation Fighter element of the Future Combat Air System less than a week earlier. Eight German defense and aerospace companies signed a strategic positioning paper.
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The firms are Autoflug, Diehl Defense, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA Germany, MTU Aero Engines, and Rohde and Schwarz. Spanish companies GMV, Grupo Oesia, Indra, ITP Aero, and Sener are integrated into the effort.
The original NGF program was intended as the crewed centerpiece of FCAS. Disagreements over workshare and leadership between Airbus and Dassault Aviation contributed to its termination. Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power at Airbus Defense and Space, said the company remains committed to delivering a sixth-generation combat jet.
Dumont stated that the world in 2026 differs from conditions when FCAS began in 2017. He said Airbus has presented options to defense ministries and is awaiting guidance on next steps. The company also released a video showing a notional fighter concept with canard foreplanes, a chin intake, and a cranked wing.
Dumont noted that lessons from earlier FCAS phases remain valid. Work on the division of tasks between crewed and uncrewed platforms continues. Airbus plans to test a Eurofighter configured as a command fighter operating with uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft, with initial operational capability targeted for 2029.
