Airbus Defence Chief Confirms FCAS Fighter Jet Project Will Not Totally Fail
Overview and Current Status of the FCAS Fighter Jet Project
BERLIN, May 27 (Reuters) - The head of Airbus Defence ruled out the complete failure of the crisis-hit Franco-German FCAS fighter jet project, saying at least a networking system for weapons and drone programme would go ahead.
Project Risks and Disputes
• Plans to develop the air combat system risk collapse due to a dispute over control between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain in the €100-billion ($116 billion) project
Leadership Perspectives
• Airbus Defence chief Michael Schoellhorn said on Wednesday he saw some unbridgeable differences between Airbus and Dassault at the moment
Efforts to Move Forward
• German, French defence ministries are working out how to move forward, said Schoellhorn. He hopes for a political decision before Berlin's ILA air show on June 10
Potential Alternatives
• He mentioned options of having two different fighter jets or a new European partnership but said Germany could not take on that project alone
Confirmed Areas of Progress
Combat Cloud Networking System
• Two areas of the strategic project will go ahead, said Schoellhorn - a “Combat Cloud” to network weapon systems and a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for drones to accompany fighter jets
Financial Details
($1 = 0.8588 euros)
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Markus WacketWriting by Madeline ChambersEditing by Ludwig Burger)
