Chancellor Friedrich Merz has tasked German defence manager Frank Haun with a final attempt to rescue the faltering German‑French fighter‑jet project. According to “Spiegel”, Merz asked Haun-longtime chief of the tank‑builder Krauss‑Maffei Wegmann (KMW)-to serve as one of two mediators and to try to settle the dispute between French aircraft manufacturer Dassault and the military arm of Airbus. The goal is to propose a new compromise that will outline how the project can go forward.
Merz has, over the past months, repeatedly urged French President Emmanuel Macron to make a decision on the future of this high‑profile joint venture. Berlin and Paris have been debating whether to continue the joint development of the Future Combat Air System, better known as FCAS, a programme that has struggled to keep momentum.
Haun is regarded as one of Germany’s most seasoned defence managers, largely because of his experience overseeing the merger of KMW with French Nexter. From the German government’s perspective, that background makes him an ideal candidate to bring the FCAS project back on track-or at least to realign it in a way that does not look like a total collapse. Industry commentators describe Haun as “steel‑willed” thanks to his role in the German‑French tank fusion.
In response, Macron has appointed the similarly experienced arms‑industry expert Laurent Collet‑Billon to lead the rescue mission. The former head of France’s Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) is well acquainted with Haun. He played a key role in the Nexter‑KMW merger on behalf of the French procurement agency, and also guided the joint Airbus A400M transport‑plane programme, which had early complications and disputes.