New Fighter Jet Project Sparks Dispute Between Germany and France, Leaders Intervene to Mediate

On the evening of August 28, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron met in Toulon Port in southern France. In front of the media, the two did not reveal much substantive content, but behind the scenes, the European joint development of a new generation of fighter jets was the main topic of the meeting. This project, which has high expectations from Europe, is currently stalled due to disputes within the German and French aviation industries.

"Future Combat Air System" (FCAS) is the most expensive new weapons development plan in Europe today. It includes a new generation of fighter jets, military drones, and a European defense cloud computing platform that controls these drone swarms. The total cost of the project is at least 100 billion euros, and the weapons will not be put into service until at least 2040.

In an interview with DW, political scholar Morin from the Bertelsmann Foundation pointed out that one of the main goals of the FCAS project is to reduce dependence on American weapons, especially on the American F-35 stealth fighter.

However, the new generation fighter jet project, which carries high hopes from Europe, is currently stuck due to disputes between the industrial sectors of France, Germany, and Spain. For this reason, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel (also known as Mertz) met in Toulon Port in southern France this week and attended the Franco-German Defense Committee meeting held there. This meeting is held every six months, and usually, neither country's leaders attend.

Over the past few months, the French defense company Dassault has been pressuring the government, arguing that the FCAS project may lead to increased dependence of French defense on foreign countries. This does not only refer to dependence on the United States, but also on European neighbors. Dassault's CEO Trapier said in April to the French National Assembly: "We must carefully weigh the areas where we rely on allies... The government must decide: who will jointly develop the next generation of fighter jets with France."

The Airbus Group, a joint venture of Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, demands greater influence in the FCAS project. Currently, the "Eurofighter" European fighter jet is mainly produced in Airbus factories in Germany and Spain, with the UK and Italy also participating. Airbus clearly does not want to be marginalized in the FCAS project.

Issue of Interest Distribution

Currently, contracts for the two phases of the FCAS project are being negotiated. Especially in the development of prototypes, Dassault wants to further expand its already significant influence. Asham-Baumert, an expert on military industry issues at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told DW that during contract negotiations, the distribution of contracts can change. "For example, giving more shares to the French in the development of fighter jets, while Germany and Spain gain more benefits in other areas. However, this makes things very complicated because the contracts not only involve major companies, but also include small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. The key is: which company does what specific task? And who coordinates it?"

Asham-Baumert does not expect any specific results from the meeting between Macron and Merkel in Toulon Port; they can at most send a political signal: Germany and France will continue to advance the FCAS project. Moreover, Spain, which also plays an important role in the project, was not present at the talks.

When Macron and Merkel met in Berlin in late July, they stated that by the end of this autumn, the defense ministers of the two countries would jointly announce a solution for the FCAS. If this timetable cannot be adhered to, the FCAS project is unlikely to proceed to the next stage by 2026.

Software Is More Important Than Hardware

Currently, the French government is heavily in debt, and its ruling coalition is on the verge of collapse due to the inability to reach a consensus on the budget. In contrast, the German government has more financial flexibility in military spending: Chancellor Merkel pushed through a law in the spring that allows military budgeting to exceed the debt ceiling.

Political scholar Morin from the Bertelsmann Foundation pointed out that given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Moscow's threat to the security of the entire Europe, Germany is increasing its procurement of existing military products, "but at the same time, future projects like FCAS have not received enough attention." Morin is worried that Germany's focus on the present may cause the FCAS project to be scaled back or delayed.

Nevertheless, this German political scholar emphasized that the fighter jet is not the most critical part of the FCAS project. "What is more important is the drones, and the most important is the military cloud platform, which is the software that integrates various weapons together."

In today's war in Ukraine, both sides' drones play a core role. Morin pointed out: "It is not the drones themselves that help Ukraine's air defense, but the information interconnection behind them, which integrates images transmitted by drones, satellite photos, and reconnaissance images." Morin believes that the software that realizes information interconnection is the key to reducing reliance on the US. "Therefore, the FCAS project cannot fail. The meeting between the leaders of Germany and France will give the project a boost, sending a clear political signal."

Of course, the timing of when the various weapons of the FCAS project will be launched remains unknown.

Source: DW

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841944638256202/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.