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..the issue is everyone sits on their specific requirements and demands a fair share for their own industry. Hampering every european project...
The system of procurement for complex weapons systems such as 5th generation fighters is just not fit for purpose in my opinion. The costs are so huge that you have to have multinational collaboration; In Europe this inevitably means a variety of conflicting military, political and commercial agendas which will push and pull the project around from start to finish. It will take so long to complete that once you've got there, you've forgotten why you needed it in the first place. You may end up with just what is required at that time - if you are very lucky. So you have to make it multi/omni/swing role to hedge your bets, but that means more compromise along the way.
I am struggling to rationalise how we got here, but guess it's a combination of defence companies over-specifying and under-pricing at the outset, which whets the appetite of the military brass for the latest and shiniest new kit that will solve all their conundrums. As soon as they understand what they are getting, they will then change the specifications half-way through development. Governments moaned and groaned about escalating costs, but times were good and taxation could always sort it out. But that's no longer true, and some projects which were started in the champagne days are having to be finished as the soup kitchens multiply. It's also probably due to a change in society which does not accept military casualties as in the past, and therefore technology is expected to reduce individual risk at the expense of very great complexity and cost. Hard to argue against if you're the guy at the sharp end.
So there's the problem. It's just the solution that's the difficult bit. If the world economy suddenly reignites, the process goes back to how it was before - not efficient, not correct but manageable and accepted. If it doesn't then you just have to get through the current batch of costly, inefficient projects and wait for the good times to return and memory to fade before aiming high again. I don't think we learn from history.
Of course, you may think very differently.