PARIS (dpa-AFX) – After the failure of the FCAS fighter jet project, Germany is demanding Defense industry-Association of lessons for future projects. FCAS has to be ticked off, but other European collaborations are still possible, said the managing director of the Federal Association of the German Security and Defense Industries, Hans Christoph Atzpodien, to the German Press Agency before the Eurosatory arms trade fair in Paris.
FCAS stands for “Future Combat Air System”. Germany and France started the billion-dollar project in 2017, but did not make any significant progress. It was recently declared a failure.
“We do not want to and must not give up the idea of more European cooperation,” said Atzpodien, the former head of the Thyssenkrupp naval subsidiary (thyssenkrupp). “We just need to pay more attention to what conditions need to be met for such projects to be successful.” The main aim is to harmonize the different interests of the governments and companies involved “in honest solidarity”.
European fighter jet project has failed
Europe’s defense industry is fragmented. Critics criticize too many national solo efforts, which has resulted in a proliferation of different weapon systems, which makes rapid, efficient arms production and thus Europe’s optimal defense capability more difficult.
In 2017, Germany and France initiated two major projects on which they wanted to work together – the FCAS fighter jet project and the “Main Ground Combat System” tank project (MGCS for short).
At FCAS, the companies involved did not come to a common denominator. The MGCS tank project could also be a failure, as Rheinmetall boss (Rheinmetall) Armin Papperger recently made clear in “Welt am Sonntag”. The German manager fears that the French will leave.
The MGCS aims to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks with a cross-platform ground combat system by 2040. In addition to Rheinmetall, the French Thales Group (Thales) and KNDS are involved. The company was formed from the merger of the German tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the French state-owned company Nexter.
Around 100 German companies at the Paris trade fair
The German defense industry association BDSV emphasizes the strong presence of German companies at the French Eurosatory trade fair. “We are present at the trade fair with around 100 companies – this shows that we want to present ourselves and network internationally, and we are also interested in cooperation with other international partners,” said Atzpodien.
Eurosatory is one of the largest arms trade fairs in the world. A good 2,600 exhibitors from 68 countries present their tanks, artillery pieces, ammunition, drones and other armaments there from Monday to Friday./wdw/DP/zb
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