“It was billed as the answer to high-tech U.S. stealth fighters. Instead, an ambitious pan-European project has become a case study into some of what has gone wrong with the region's defense push.
The French, German and Spanish Future Combat Air System project was meant to build a next-generation aircraft to catch up with the latest U.S., Chinese and Russian models. Now the venture has devolved into bickering between defense companies Airbus and Dassault Aviation -- and between Berlin and Paris -- over who gets to lead its development, with all sides now questioning its future.
The unraveling collaboration is a symptom of one of Europe's biggest problems when it comes to defense: While European countries' spending on the military collectively dwarfs Russia's and has overtaken China's, the whole is somewhat less than the sum of its parts.
With capitals often giving priority to contracts with national companies, Europe's armed forces suffer from overlaps and incompatibilities, high prices because of low economies of scale, and a fragmented industry.
One solution has been for several countries to join forces in developing systems. They have teamed up to build tanks, frigates and missiles. There is also a separate British, Italian and Japanese stealth fighter that could be delivered within 10 years.
"It's more than essential to have more joint collaboration, it's a matter of efficient spending of tax money and the credibility of European defense versus the threats that we face," said Jean-Paul Alary, the CEO of KNDS, which was created through the merger of French and German defense giants.
The FCAS project, which has gone through various iterations for more than two decades, was conceived as a sixth-generation jet fighter, potentially surpassing the U.S. F-35. In addition to advanced stealth, making it much more difficult to detect by the enemy, it is meant to incorporate artificial intelligence and fly connected with a swarm of drones.
The venture, though, took a wrong turn last year, when Dassault, the French plane maker, said it had to lead the development and construction of the aircraft. Chief Executive Eric Trappier argued that the project needed clear leadership, that Dassault should be able to select its subcontractors, and that it had the best record of developing combat aircraft.
Airbus, a cross-European company -- much of whose defense business sits in Germany -- has pushed back. German politicians and labor unions are increasingly impatient with the French demands.
Airbus said it remains committed to the FCAS program. Dassault declined to comment.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany and France don't share the same requirements for a jet fighter. "If we can't solve that, then we can't keep the project going," he said on the German political podcast Machtwechsel. The Elysee Palace responded that the military needs of the three participating states haven't changed.
Some cross-border projects succeed. But too often, they have descended into acrimony as companies and governments argued over specs or who would get the bulk of the contracts.
Military spending by European Union member states, the U.K. and Norway could reach up to about $890 billion to $1 trillion in 2030, compared with the $832.3 billion the U.S. spent last year, according to a study by the Milken Institute think tank and Oliver Wyman, a management-consulting firm. Much of this spending is purely national.
Development costs for weapon projects are vast. For Europe, this means a lot of redundant military spending with less money going into research than other areas. In the U.S., research and development accounted for 16% of total military spending in 2023, according to the Milken study, against 4.5% in Europe a year earlier.
There is also a lack of standardization in a region whose militaries may have to fight together. European nations have supplied Ukraine with 11 types of howitzer firing the 155mm shell.
For all the bickering, defense analysts say Europe has little choice but to make joint projects work if it is to step up as a pillar of NATO.” [1]
Andrius Kubilius, who is currently serving as the European Commissioner for Defence and Space in the Second von der Leyen Commission, isn’t catching the mouse.
1. World News: Stealth Fighter Exposes Europe's Rifts on Defense. MacDonald, Alistair; Gallardo, Cristina; Gramer, Robbie. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 19 Feb 2026: A7.
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