https://www.defensenews.com/global/e...n-fighter-jet/
Aircraft makers lumber toward deal for Europe’s next-gen fighter jet
STUTTGART, Germany — France’s Dassault Aviation on Thursday said there is a breakthrough industry agreement that would finally allow the trinational Future Combat Air System effort to proceed.
In a Dec. 1 interview with French publication Le Figaro, Dassault CEO and Chairman Eric Trappier revealed that “all road blocks have been lifted” for the partners to move forward on Phase 1B, the pre-demonstrator phase that would work on developing a fighter prototype.….
He told Le Figaro that Dassault has been confirmed in its leadership and architect role for the aircraft, and has been reassured that its intellectual property would be safeguarded in the program.
He asserted in the interview that the prototype fighter would be ready to fly by 2029, two years later than originally planned. A Phase 2 contract, which would launch the prototype development period, is expected to be signed in the next two to three years, he added.
Airbus confirmed the industry agreement had been signed in a Thursday email to Defense News. “All industry partners of the Future Combat Air System have now signed the respective agreements in order to launch the program’s next phase, the demonstrator phase 1B,” said Airbus CEO Mike Schoellhorn.
Yet the update remains just one more step before the final contract signature between the three participating nations and their industry partners, which will occur “once relevant processes have been concluded in the respective customer nations,” Schoellhorn added.….
The contracts will be formally brought before France’s military procurement office, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), which is managing the trinational program. According to a Thursday statement by the French Ministry of Defense, the goal remains to field the system of systems, including the next-generation fighter, around 2040.