Dassault Aviation CEO: Franco-German Combat Jet Project Over, Focus Shifts to Rafale F5 and Drone

Dassault Aviation's CEO, Éric Trappier, has officially declared the end of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, marking a significant shift in European defense cooperation. Trappier confirmed that the collaboration with Airbus on the New Generation Fighter (NGF), a key component of the FCAS, is now "finished" and "behind us." This decision follows the German and French governments' abandonment of the project just over a month prior. The contractual and legal termination of the Scaf (Système de Combat Aérien du Futur), with the NGF at its core, has been finalized and notified in recent days. Regarding the "combat cloud," a foundational element of the Scaf, Trappier expressed uncertainty about its meaning but emphasized that interoperability between French aircraft and those of allied nations would be maintained. This suggests that work on the combat cloud as part of the Scaf initiative is not currently a priority for Dassault Aviation.