Airbus, the France-based firm, is preparing to make a new fighter jet as the EU rolls out its defence integration project.
Fernando Alonso, the head of the firm’s military branch, told Handelsblatt, a German newspaper, that Germany and Spain have already signed up for the project and that he hoped France would also come on board.
New weapons system to help create EU defence sovereignty. (Photo: Defence Images)
“We are working on various building blocks in Germany and Spain, some of the financing comes from the governments, we hope for more," he said.
“We hope that France will also participate, because we have to work together in Europe, there is no more space for two or three different systems”, he added.
If France joined, it might also replace the French fighter jet, the Rafale, when that becomes obsolete in 2030, Handelsblatt said.
Another option would be to buy F35 fighter jets from the US.
But that would be seen as an untimely gift for US leader Donald Trump, who has belittled and confused EU allies since coming to power.
Investing in US fighter jets would also go against the EU’s stated aim to achieve technological and strategic “sovereignty” as part of its new defence plan, which includes a €1.5-billion a year R&D and joint procurement fund designed to stimulate projects such as the FCAS.