Will Berlin betray Paris on the sixth generation fighter project? Meanwhile, Dassault is celebrating
France feels satisfied with the success of its aviation industry, and rightly so. D assault has moved closer to acquiring two new orders of Rafale fighter jets by opening talks with India and Saudi Arabia, which could potentially see Dassault produce another 80 planes.
The satisfaction with these results, however, is overshadowed by the new uncertainty regarding the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/SCAF next generation fighter project – which involves France, Germany and Spain – and which does not seem to sufficiently satisfy the German partners.
Earlier this week, The Times newspaper reported that Germany "may" decide to abandon the program and join the rival Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) led by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry told Breaking Defense that the story was "false", but analysts say strained industrial relations between Berlin and Paris continue to cause problems.
Past tensions between Airbus and Dassault over a contract for a Phase 1B demonstrator, needed for the two manufacturers to develop an early version of the next-generation FCAS fighter, ended in December 2022 with a late contract signing. Difficulties with flight control systems were reportedly the main cause of controversy. Despite the smiles at the signing, it remains an uncomfortable partnership.
Italian-Anglo-Japanese GCAS Tempest
Dassault is reportedly reluctant to share some of its flight control-related intellectual property with Airbus. Moreover, the previous Franco-German military projects involving Airbus, from A 400 to Tiger to NH 90, were not exactly great successes.
Paul Lever, the former British ambassador to Germany, said that while he had "no specific knowledge" that Germany was considering an exit from the FCAS, if he wanted to "cynically speculate" about why a story might emerge on the subject, and would get involved According to the position of a German procurement official “fed up with excessive French demands on work and design sharing”, there would be “no better way to scare them [France] than to leak such a story to a British journalist. ”
Officially, Berlin sees the situation very differently and continues to place trust in the FCAS and this would lead one to think that the news is not false, but was simply a "Signal" sent from Berlin to Paris to make it lower its wings. In fact, the news was then followed by an official denial:
“Germany remains faithful to the common project with France and Spain,” added the spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense. “Media reports that Germany is withdrawing are false. The first demonstrator [FCAS] is currently under construction. We are on the right path here and we will continue on this path."
French officials confirmed that Germany remained committed to the FCAS project, adding that they had no idea on what alleged facts the Times had based its article.
France and Germany: FCAS partners, fourth generation adversaries
However FCAS developments unfold, political pressures could also work against France over the Rafale deal with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's requirements for additional fourth-generation fighters effectively pit France and Germany against each other, as Germany is part of the four-nation Eurofighter consortium. Right now, Berlin is blocking the sale of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia due to the conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, but the UK is pushing for Germany to relent; if London and Berlin were to reach an agreement, it would almost put an end to French Rafale hopes, also because Saudi already uses Eurofighter.
Sebastien Lecornu, France's defense minister, told reporters last month that "discussions" were underway to secure a sale, without providing further details, according to the French news agency AFP.
Riyadh has specifically asked Dassault for a “cost proposal” for 54 Rafale aircraft by November 10, French business newspaper La Tribune Dimanche recently reported.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. “Dassault Aviation does not [offer] comment,” a spokesperson for the manufacturer told Breaking Defense.
More certain for France is an order from the Indian Navy for 26 Rafale jets in naval configuration . The French DGA for Defense Procurement received an official request for proposal from the Indian Ministry of Defense a few days ago, officially starting contract negotiations. The deal was first announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last July, when he was guest of honor at Bastille Day celebrations in France.
The latest deal comes after France completed the delivery of 36 Rafale aircraft to India last year.
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The article will Berlin betray Paris on the sixth generation fighter project? Meanwhile, Dassault is celebrating comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/berlino-tradira-parigi-sul-progetto-di-caccia-di-vi-generazione-intanto-dassault-festeggia/ on Sat, 04 Nov 2023 10:00:29 +0000.