Ayhan Simsek
09 June 2026•Update: 10 June 2026
Germany is holding talks with various partners about developing a next-generation fighter jet, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Tuesday, after the long-troubled Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project collapsed.
“The fact that FCAS has now been shut down came as no surprise. Signs had been pointing in that direction for quite some time,” Pistorius told a press conference in Berlin, stressing that it was mainly due to disagreements between the companies Dassault and Airbus.
“As for the new jet, we shall see which path we take. We have been in discussions with various stakeholders about this for months—as you can well imagine. However, I am not going to speculate publicly here about which project it might turn out to be or who would lead it,” the minister said.
The FCAS project, valued at around €100 billion ($116 billion), was intended to develop a next-generation combat aircraft to replace France’s Rafale jets and Germany’s Eurofighter planes.
However, longstanding disputes over technical specifications, leadership responsibilities, industrial workshare, technology transfers, and intellectual property rights stalled progress and prevented the project from moving forward.
Germany weighs four options
Pistorius told reporters later on Tuesday that Berlin is considering four alternatives and is continuing talks with Airbus about the possibility of developing a new project under German leadership, using European components.
“There are several options. One is ordering additional F-35s. The second is to join an existing international project that is already underway,” Pistorius said at a joint news conference with his Czech counterpart Jaromír Zuna in Berlin.
“Or we could launch our own project under German leadership, involving Airbus and other partners. Those are the three options currently on the table,” the minister said. “There might possibly be a fourth—one I do not wish to discuss right now. But yes, that is conceivable and remains a possibility.”
