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| Germany, France, Spain Agree to Continue Development of FCAS Fighter Jet Project |
International Military - France, Germany and Spain reached an agreement to continue development of the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) fighter jet. Currently the next phase of FCAS development will begin. It is the largest defense project in Europe with an estimated cost of over 100 billion euros.
Reuters reported, the industry from each country in this project has reached an agreement regarding their tasks. However, the anonymous source did not elaborate.
Initially, there were obstacles related to the division of portions that were worked on by the industry. But now it has been resolved and mutually agreed upon. Sources said that the next phase of FCAS development is expected to cost around 3.5 billion euros (3.63 billion) to be split equally between the three countries.
France's Dassault, Germany's Airbus and Spain's Indra are respectively involved in schemes to start replacing the French Rafale and German and Spanish Typhoons from 2040.
The FCAS program was first announced in July 2017 for FCAS. Germany and France struggled for more than a year to agree on the next stage of FCAS development. Some sources see Dassault's culpability, as the company refuses to budge in a long-running dispute over intellectual property rights.
Another source blamed Airbus for pushing for a bigger stake in the Dassault-led project and insisted it had to be with the French company.