Overview
- French and German leaders agreed on Monday to stop pursuing a common manned SCAF combat aircraft after years of stalled talks and industrial friction.
- The collapse followed an industrial deadlock between Dassault and Airbus over who would lead the programme, how workshares and intellectual property would be split, and competing aircraft requirements.
- Paris and Berlin have instructed their defence ministries to preserve and further develop the programme’s networked elements, known as the 'combat cloud', as a European system.
- An Airbus-led alliance called Team Gen 6 has offered an alternative German-anchored sixth‑generation fighter and will formalize its proposal at the ILA airshow while Germany also weighs buying more F‑35s or pursuing other partnerships.
- The decision is a major setback for European defence cooperation that leaves roughly €100 billion of long-term ambitions in flux, forces national restart plans, and could push Germany toward closer ties with U.S. defence suppliers.