The demands for ending the long‑standing dispute over the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) are growing louder.
Within the German Airbus workforce, there is a clear rejection of continuing to partner with the French conglomerate Dassault on the development of a future combat aircraft. Dassault remains the central partner and main contractor for FCAS, together with Airbus’s Bonn‑based Defence and Security division.
Thomas Pretzl, the chairman of Airbus’s employee council in the defence sector, told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that “it’s time to finally put an end to the drama with Dassault”. Pretzl argues that European sovereignty and independence from the United States cannot be jeopardised by involving the French firm Dassault in the project.
The German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) and IG Metall also call for a “two‑aircraft solution” within FCAS. Under that model, Germany and France would develop separate aircraft. Last week Airbus chief Guillaume Faury insisted that, from his view, FCAS remains a sensible project “as a whole”.