The Future Air Combat System (SCAF) project has been blocked by rivalry between Dassault and Airbus and doubts about German involvement. Will this program, which is the basis of European defense cooperation, see the light of day?
Will it ever take off? Nothing is less certain. The future air combat system (FAS) is at a standstill. Blocked by the rivalry between Dassault and Airbus and the German Pas de deux, this program, presented as essential to European defense cooperation, is in turmoil.
The SCAF program is a “system of systems” that revolves around the aircraft with accompanying drones, all connected by a “battle cloud” to other military means involved in the operation.
Launched in 2017 by France and Germany after Spain joined them, it is a long way off despite an intergovernmental funding agreement signed on 30 August. It is providing 3.6 billion euros for detailed studies, called “Phase 1B”, to begin construction of a flight demonstrator in 2025, something like a preliminary prototype of the future aircraft. But nothing since.
“red lines”
However, manufacturers from the three countries have agreed on six “pillars” of the program (engines, sensors, drones, etc.), but not on the last and most important – the new generation fighter jets (NGF). Things are frozen between Dassault, the aircraft’s main contractor, and its Airbus partner, which represents the interests of Germany and Spain. As a result, the contracts allowing the start of Phase 1B have not yet been notified.
“I am ready to sign, I am waiting for the signature of Airbus,” Dassault Aviation chief Eric Trapier said on Friday, putting pressure ahead of a European summit scheduled for March 10th and 11th in Versailles.
Referring to the press for “additional requests” from Airbus following the intergovernmental agreement, he recalled his “red lines”: to have the means to ensure the management of the project for which he is responsible.
“The problem is on the other side of the Rhine”
Claiming to be “among the best in the world, if not the best in terms of flight control”, Dassault does not intend to leave the responsibility to Airbus, even if German industrialists such as Hensolt and the European giant are involved in their design. “If there is a problem, it is on the other side of the Rhine,” he said.
For his part, Airbus President Guillaume Faure admitted in mid-February that “discussions (took longer) than expected, but it is not uncommon in this type of negotiation.”
“We are trying to do everything possible to (…) find an agreement and move forward,” he added.
The CEO of Dassault Aviation does not hesitate to raise the specter of the failure of the program: “In 2022 we will have to manage, we can not stay with the weapon at his feet, at one point we say yes or we say no.”
Dassault has already begun reassigning some of the design engineers to other tasks, “or even the whole team soon,” because “we can’t leave a team of hundreds of engineers doing nothing,” says Eric Trapier.
SCAF, which is set to replace French Rafale fighters and German and Spanish Eurofighters by 2040, appears “increasingly hypothetical”, French lawmakers warned in a recent report.
“They will buy the F-35”
Apart from the issue of the division of labor between Dassault and Airbus, this is also due to the future need of Germany, they point out. Berlin must acquire American F-18 or F-35 aircraft in order to continue to secure its nuclear mission in favor of NATO using American atomic bombs. There are also rumors of Spain’s intention to sign the F-35, threatening its financial stake in Scaf.
“Stubborn rumors point to the Luftwaffe’s preference for the F-35, which, if acquired, will eliminate Germany’s need for a new fighter by 2040,” MPs Patricia Miral and Jean-Louis Thierry feared in their report.
“We will see with our number one partner, Germany, whether the first choice they will make is to sign a contract with SCAF or buy an F-35,” said Eric Trapier. While they say “convinced that they will buy an F-35”.
