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Project has been delayed by infighting over workshare

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Lawmaker in defence minister's party says latest trouble

might

be last 'nail in coffin' of project

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Changes to workshare could be setback for Hensoldt, MTU

By Sabine Siebold and Alexander Hübner

BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - France has told Germany it

wants a workshare of some 80% in the joint Franco-German fighter

jet FCAS, a defence industry source told Reuters, backing up a

report by respected German defence publication Hartpunkt.

The project, with an estimated volume of more than 100

billion euros, has been plagued by delays and infighting over

workshare and intellectual property rights between France and

Germany as well as their respective national industries.

France's Dassault Aviation, Airbus and

Indra - the latter two representing Germany and Spain,

respectively - are involved in the scheme to start replacing

French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighters with a

fifth-generation fighter jet from 2040.

A spokesperson for the German defence ministry said that the

intergovernmental agreements on the FCAS development remained

the binding framework for Berlin's participation in the

programme. He referred all questions regarding the French

perspective to the French side.

France's defence ministry declined to comment.

An Airbus spokesperson declined to comment but said the

company remained committed to FCAS and all previous agreements.

"The coming months until the end of the year will be crucial

to swiftly launch the actual development phase of the program,"

he added.

Should France follow through with its demand of an 80%

workshare, this would scrap the agreed division of tasks, the

source said, adding the resulting differences among project

partners would make it unlikely that the project can enter its

next phase as scheduled by the end of the year.

Tasks and workshare have been split up so far along specific

pillars of the project such as the development of the aircraft

itself, the engine, accompanying remote carrier and the air

combat cloud, the digital backbone connecting the systems.

TENSIONS

Shifting workshares could mean a setback for German

companies such as Hensoldt and MTU.

French President Emmanuel Macron and then-German Chancellor

Angela Merkel first announced plans in July 2017 for FCAS, which

will include a fighter jet and a range of associated weapons,

including drones.

In past years, the project - originally meant to unify

Europeans after the migration crisis and Britain's decision to

leave the European Union - has been a source of tension between

France and Germany.

In 2022, Macron cancelled a joint Franco-German ministerial

meeting over disagreements with Berlin on a wide range of issues

including defence and energy projects.

Should Paris not back away from its 80% demand, this might

constitute the last "nail in the coffin" of the joint project as

Berlin could not accept such a wish and go on funding a French

project with German money, German lawmaker Christoph Schmid, a

member of Defence Minister Boris Pistorius' Social Democratic

Party, told Hartpunkt.

The works council at Airbus Defence & Space has called a

union meeting for Monday in Manching, the most important plant

for the Eurofighter production, according to a second source.

The latest turmoil surrounding FCAS is likely to fuel fresh

speculation over a merger of the program with the rival GCAP

project, in which Britain, Italy and Japan are seeking to

develop, design and build an advanced stealth jet.