This “system of systems”, articulated around an aircraft and accompanying drones, must replace from 2040 the French Rafale and the German and Spanish Eurofighter.
MO12345LEMOND With AFP
The European combat aircraft approached the sky, Friday, November 18. The manufacturers have finally reached an agreement for the expensive and complex European fighting aircraft project, after more than a year of tightness between Dassault and Airbus, according to concordant sources.
“After intense negotiations, an agreement between manufacturers was able to be reached for the next phase of the program” of the Air Combat system (SCAF), the German defense ministry announced in a statement released in Berlin. “The political agreement on the SCAF is a big step forward and – especially in the current international context – an important signal of excellent cooperation between France, Germany and Spain”, reacted the French presidency in A press release, stressing that “France ensures the role of project leader”.
Sharing tasks
“We can confirm that the discussions between industry and governments on the next phase of the SCAF have led, which represents a big step forward for this European defense program, reacted the European Airbus aircraft manufacturer . Now, a certain number of formal steps in the respective countries must be taken to allow a rapid signature of the contract to which we will have to comply. “
Launched in 2017, the SCAF, which also includes drones, is supposed to enter into service on the horizon of 2040. At the end of August 2021, the three countries concerned, France, Germany and the Spain, had signed an agreement providing for the financing of detailed studies up to 3.6 billion euros to launch in 2025 the construction of a flight demonstrator. The contracts had not been made, however, for lack of agreement on the sharing of tasks between the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation and its main partner, Airbus.
Airbus and Dassault did not manage to agree on the distribution of tasks on the “pillar 1” of the program – the combat aircraft proper -, on which the discussions between industrialists. Airbus had expressed its optimism on Monday as to an agreement before the end of the year with Dassault.
“Combat Cloud”
This essential agreement for the continuation of the program is reached while the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, is expected on November 25 in Germany, where she will meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This visit will be an opportunity for Paris to put oil back in the cogs of the Franco-German engine, which had seized on energy and defense issues.
The SCAF program is a “system of systems” which is articulated around the plane with accompanying drones, all connected, via a “combat cloud”, with the other military means engaged in an operation. It is supposed to replace the German and Eurofighter Germans and Spanish. The total cost of the program – some 100 billion euros are mentioned – is such that it is not possible to lead it to the national level, but European, underlined its promoters.
That being, Franco-German cooperation in the Defense field has struggled to materialize on several projects, in addition to the SCAF: the MGCS fighting program, supposed to enter around 2035, remains mired in the rivalries Between the Franco -German KNDS – bringing together the German KMW and the French Nexter – and the German Rheinmetall.
By announcing at the end of February an envelope of 100 billion euros for the defense, Mr. Scholz had recalled that the SCAF and the MGCS constituted an “absolute priority”, despite the recent purchase of planes of planes Americans F-35, which will mainly be used in Berlin to transport American nuclear missiles within the framework of NATO deterrence operations.
Other Franco-German Defense projects have experienced hiccups, even abandoned, including the modernization of Tiger helicopters, a missile and an artillery system, when the invasion of Ukraine by Russia Acuityly poses the question of strengthening European defense capacities. On the other hand, after then a big delay in ignition, the Eurodrone program was notified at the beginning of the year in Airbus, its industrial leader.