Airbus says that the conflict with Dassault threatens the fighter plane project

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Airbus Defense and Space CEO of Airbus Defense and Space warned that the dispute with his French partner during the next stage of an ambitious ambitious plane project led by France and Germany must be resolved by the end of the year if the program may have any hope of success.

Michael Shuelhuron said that the group of Europe and Dasoult in France had “different views” in the second stage in which they would build the first demonstration of aircraft, and they suggested that politicians participate in the infection solution.

The CEO of Dassault éric Trappier has increasingly criticized how tensions between companies hindered the progress of the Air Combat Future Systems project, and warned that a lot of cross -border cooperation between French, German and Spanish partners may collapse.

Schoelhorn said that the recent Trappier comments indicate that the French group “wants to rearrange or change the entire scene”, including the principle of one vote in the project governance.

“Maybe this is what is going on in Dasoult’s mind when they say they are not happy with the third they have on the fighter. It will be very difficult,” Schoelhorn said in an interview at the Paris Air Show.

Schoelhorn added that the discussions are unlikely to be resolved between Airbus and Dassault alone. “It must reach a political and industrial agreement that what we agreed in the past is still in effect,” he said.

TrapPier told April the French Parliament that the structure of governance should change. “This means that France, although it is the main nation and contributing significantly to the program, can be superior to Germany and Spain. This preparation leads to continuous negotiations and ventilation of effective decisions,” he said.

Dassault coach also argued that his company’s experience in making combat aircraft, which was proven by years Strong sales From its Rafale aircraft, it means that it should be given Freer’s hand to experience FCAS.

The conflict over the FCAS project comes at a sensitive time for European governments as it seeks to build its local military capabilities to counter the growing geopolitical threats.

Berlin and Paris launched Great Fanfare in 2017 and later joined by Madrid, the largest defensive project in Europe. It is designed to enhance strategic self -government on the continent, enhance political and military relations between its largest economies and breathe a new life in the European aviation industry.

But the project may be dominated by tensions between Airbus, which represents Germany in the project, and the competing Dassault. Spain Endra Systemas is also a partner.

There were repeated arguments between Airbus and Dassautu on technology sharing, who would lead critical parts of the program, and the specifications of the fighter plane.

FCAS was imagined to include the next generation plane designed to work smoothly with drones and is equipped with advanced communication systems. In the event of this, it can replace the combat aircraft carried by the European Air Force, such as Eurofighter and Tornado in Germany and Rafal France.

The program’s partners are under pressure to accelerate its development amid competition from a competitor, the Global Combat Air program, between British BAE systems, Italian Leonardo and heavy industries in Italy. The three companies pledged to build an advanced fighter plane by 2035.

Schoellhorn said that under the original agreement, Dassault had “a content” on the fighter plane, but if the company says, “in order to be the leader, we need to obtain more than a third of the work, and we will start facing issues.”

The partners added, and Schoelhorn added, “By the end of the year.”

Schoelhorn, Airpos, said that Schoellhorn, has enjoyed a very successful partnership with other companies, especially the Bae Systems in Britain and Leonardo in Italy, in combat plane projects like Eurofighter and Tornado. The company chose to stay away from these partnerships for partnership with Dassault.

“We have a 50 -year heritage.