The head of Dassault Aviation said on Tuesday the French planemaker could develop a new fighter jet alone and challenged Germany to do the same in the latest sign of tensions threatening to blow apart a shared European project.
Germany has blamed Dassault for blocking the next phase of the so-called FCAS project, which involves building an airworthy demonstrator, by demanding sole leadership.
A prominent member of the German parliament’s defence committee last month raised the prospect that Berlin could withdraw from FCAS and told Reuters that the government must decide quickly.
Britain is prepared to let Germany join the Tempest next-generation fighter aircraft project amid a bust-up with France over a rival European effort, industry sources say.
The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) currently involves the UK, Japan and Italy – but there is speculation now that Germany could join as well.
Defence industry sources said a decision would ultimately fall to the governments involved, adding that the scope for a German role in development was narrow because project was at an advanced stage.
However, they did not rule out Berlin joining GCAP as a buyer and having an input into certain aspects of the aircraft, including the drone platforms that are expected to accompany it.
Getting Germany on board with GCAP would be a coup for Britain and its partners and would further improve the economics of the programme.
For now, Berlin has said its current preference is to remain part of the rival scheme known as Systeme de Combat Aerien du Futur (SCAF), which it has pursued jointly with France and Spain.
However, significant tensions are bubbling under the surface with German officials and Airbus, which represents German industry in the project, reportedly exasperated with French defence giant Dassault Aviation over its demands for a contract renegotiation.
Dassault, which makes the hugely successful Rafale fighter jet, is said to be demanding more control over the programme and a bigger share of the work because of its aviation expertise.
Airbus has insisted it will not reopen the deal. Behind the scenes, Berlin has begun examining alternative options including potential partnerships with Britain or Sweden, according to the news website Politico.
Last week, French executives dared Berlin to walk away. “The Germans can complain, but here we know how to do this,” Eric Trappier, the boss of Dassault, said on Tuesday. “If they want to act on their own, let them do so.”
Industry sources said the main concern with German involvement in GCAP would be the risk of delays.
At the moment, the three partner countries are racing to sign final contracts this year after concluding tough negotiations to hash out the division of work between themselves.
Reopening those talks is not seen as attractive and could put the project’s already-tight timelines at risk. Tokyo in particular is seeking a tarmac-ready aircraft that can be deployed from 2035.
The three countries are also working towards a demonstrator jet in 2027.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence would not be drawn on potential German participation but reiterated the UK’s commitment to GCAP and the scheme’s focus on “interoperability” with allies.
The programme, originally conceived as Tempest in Britain, brings together the next-generation fighter programmes of the UK, Italy and Japan and aims to create a stealthy, supersonic jet that will act as a “platform of platforms” coordinating drones, missiles, battlefield communications and intelligence-gathering.
Together, the three partner countries have set up Edgewing – a joint venture of Britain’s BAE Systems, Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co and Italy’s Leonardo – to pilot a rapid development process, which will involve coordinating a large group of industrial businesses that includes Rolls-Royce in the UK.
A spokesman for Edgewing said: “All three GCAP nations have highlighted their openness to working with other nations through this programme, based on shared consideration of what is best for the programme and of mutual benefit.
“Any decisions on wider partnering will be made trilaterally by the national governments.
“Edgewing has been created to lead the design and development of the aircraft and, as such, it is completely focused on maintaining critical momentum on the programme and mobilisation of its business operations in three nations.”
Francis Tusa, an independent defence analyst, predicted that the difficulty of unpicking the arrangements reached so far would significantly limit any potential role Germany can play.
He said: “It was made really clear at [London trade show] Defence and Security Equipment International that Germany could join as a production partner, just not as a development partner.
“So they are saying: ‘Yes, if Germany wants to buy them of course they can have some production lines, but we are not going to stop the programme to open everything up for negotiation again.’”
Professor Justin Bronk, an aviation expert at the Royal United Services Institute, added that because of this, it wasn’t obvious how GCAP can “offer things at this stage that would make it noticeably better than what they currently have with France – albeit that is very unsatisfactory for them at the moment”.
However, he said: “If they end up with no alternative, becoming a customer of GCAP – maybe with some local assembly – is potentially an option that I can see being plausible.”
Mr Tusa said the row with France had left Germany in an awkward position because the country lacks the capabilities to develop a fighter aircraft on its own. Another potential alternative could be to work with Sweden on a future fighter programme.
He added: “For all intents and purposes, SCAF is dead – and frankly, Germany is up a creek.”
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