France expects combat jet announcement at Berlin Air show: report
PARIS (Reuters) - France expects to take a “first significant step” in the development of a new European fighter jet with Germany later this month, Defence Minister Florence Parly said in remarks published on Thursday...... Parly said that ongoing “active talks” should result in an announcement at the ILA Berlin Air Show from April 25-29........
“On a political level, discussions between the French and German teams are intense. The industrial groups are working well together and now we have to ensure the two processes come together,” Parly told
La Tribune newspaper.
A French defense ministry source, speaking before Parly met her German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen, said the two sides would sign a high level common operational requirements document in Berlin, a 10-page document that outlines the basic needs of the two militaries. After that the companies involved - Dassault, MBDA, Thales and Safran on the French side and Airbus on the German side - would spend just under a year working separately on technical specifications before agreeing a common contract to work together.
“This proves wrong the people that said France and Germany couldn’t work together on defense projects,” the source said. It was too early to talk about including other EU partners in the project, she said. The source said France and Germany wanted to push the project forward quickly before bringing others on board.......
“We are looking at first delivery by 2040 to replace the Eurofighter and to prepare for a future beyond the Rafale,” the source said. “The industrial studies will start this year autonomously so that we can try to start to work together next year with a view to launching the program in the 2020s.”.....
Germany’s defense ministry did not immediately respond for comment.