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FCAS partners move to next phase

17th May 2021 - 16:00 GMT | by Shephard News Team

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A model of FCAS was unveiled at the 2019 Paris Air Show. (Photo: German MoD)

Tripartite agreement sets Phase 1B of NGWS/FCAS in motion.

The New Generation Weapon System/Future Combat Air System (NGWS/FCAS) programme is moving to its next phase, after the governments of France, Germany and Spain signed an agreement on 17 May.

Phase 1B aims to deliver a flight-capable fighter aircraft by 2027, ‘paving the way for an operational aircraft in 2040,’ French defence minister Florence Parly noted.

Negotiations between French procurement agency DGA, its Spanish counterpart DGAM and the German MoD ‘enabled a balanced agreement between the different partners to be reached for the next step in the demonstration phase of the programme’, the three governments announced in a joint statement.

‘The relevant government agreements are ready for national processes to be started for formal validation,’ they added.

The NGWS will be fully integrated with individual national combat air systems. It will comprise a New Generation Fighter, Remote Carriers and a Combat Cloud ‘designed to achieve information mastery’, the statement continued.

Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [Spain]

Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [Germany]

Future Combat Air System (FCAS/SCAF) [France]