Macron and Merz hope to keep FCAS alive as Dassault–Airbus rift widens

During a high-stakes meeting in Berlin on July 23, 2025, discussions between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were dominated by the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, a cornerstone of Europe’s defense ambitions.  

While the three-hour dinner was intended to reset the Franco-German partnership, a long shadow was cast by the growing dispute between Dassault Aviation and Airbus over leadership and work-share arrangements. 

A program under strain 

Launched in 2017 by France and Germany, who were later joined by Spain, FCAS is designed to deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet and associated systems by 2040. Europe’s answer to the US F-35, it is an effort to preserve technological sovereignty in an era of rising geopolitical threats. 

Eight years in, though, the project is mired in industrial infighting. Leadership disputes, intellectual property concerns, and competing national priorities have stalled progress. Dassault Aviation insists it must lead the fighter jet component, citing decades of experience, while Airbus, representing German and Spanish interests, refuses to renegotiate existing agreements. 

The rift was already evident during the Paris Air Show 2025, when Trappier warned Dassault could consider going solo if cooperation did not improve. Airbus responded swiftly, reaffirming its commitment to FCAS but calling for “simplified cooperation frameworks” and faster decision-making. 

“We are competitors that have to marry,” said Airbus Head of Military Air Systems Jean-Brice Dumont, underscoring the uneasy alliance. 

A report issued on July 6, 2025, by German outlet hartpunkt claimed that France was seeking an 80% stake in the fighter component, triggering a sharp response from Berlin. Bundestag defense rapporteur Christoph Schmid warned that such an arrangement would mean “financing a French project with German funds”. 

Trappier’s broadside 

Those tensions escalated even further on July 22, 2025, when Dassault CEO Eric Trappier openly questioned whether FCAS should continue in its current form. 

“It’s not about leaving the project, but about deciding whether it should continue or not,” he told reporters while presenting the manufacturer’s half-year results. 

Trappier warned that FCAS risks repeating the Eurofighter model, criticizing a structure with “three countries and no real leader but three ‘co-co-co.’” He asked: “How can I have leadership when I’m facing [Airbus] who weighs twice as much as me? How can I act as prime contractor if I’m not allowed to choose subcontractors in France, Spain, and Germany?” 

He contrasted FCAS with two previous European models: Rafale, developed “with a clearly defined industrial base,” and the nEUROn drone demonstrator, where tasks and leadership were precisely allocated.  

Trappier also criticized European nations that buy US-made F-35s while calling for sovereignty. Dassault’s CEO singled out Belgium, which recently earmarked €300 million to join FCAS as a full partner, while also confirming plans to buy 11 more F-35s, on top of its initial 34. 

“The F-35 takes four or five years to be produced, which is not necessarily a great performance. That brings them to 2030. A fighter jet lasts 30 to 40 years, so they won’t need to renew their fleet until 2060 or 2070,” Trappier said. 

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“Some Europeans told me, ‘We’d like European fighters, but since we just bought F-35s, come back when they’re at the end of their life.’ That’s almost more honest than saying, ‘I want European jobs, especially from France, but I buy American.’” 

Macron and Merz seek a breakthrough 

Following their Berlin meeting, Macron and Merz tasked their respective defense ministers, Sébastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius, with finding “a realistic perspective for future cooperation” before the Franco-German ministerial council in Toulon on August 29, 2025. Both leaders have indicated they want to salvage the program, but time is running short. 

Those who have followed the story of FCAS from the start will recall that tensions first appeared during another Franco-German Council, back in 2021, when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly questioned the leadership of France [through Dassault] in the Next Generation Fighter subprogram. 

“It is a project under French leadership, but it is still necessary that the German partners can be at a satisfactory level vis-à-vis their partners,” Merkel said at the time. “We must therefore see very precisely the questions of industrial property, the sharing of tasks, and the sharing of leadership.” 

Four years later, those same questions remain unanswered, casting doubt on whether the FCAS can overcome its own contradictions. The post Macron and Merz hope to keep FCAS alive as Dassault–Airbus rift widens appeared first on AeroTime.

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