German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the stalled plan to develop a fighter jet in partnership with France 'is not dead yet'. He made this announcement while presenting plans to expand the army's capabilities and make supply chains more flexible. In an interview with Bloomberg News TV on the sidelines of yesterday's Munich Security Conference, Pistorius said: 'Ultimately, we have to decide what will happen with the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS.' The minister from the Social Democratic Party added, 'Even if this project is ended, it will not be the end of defense industrial cooperation in Europe.' Earlier, the French aerospace company Dassault had been in continuous disputes with its German partner Airbus, which leads the project costing 100 billion euros. The French side demanded greater influence, citing its experience in building fighter jets like the Rafale, while Airbus insisted on adhering to a carefully crafted agreement that defines a more balanced share in production work. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated that he expects a final decision to be made soon with French President Emmanuel Macron, while most observers expect the project to be significantly scaled down. A possible outcome is for the two countries to develop fighter jets separately, focusing their joint efforts on creating a unified software cloud for joint combat operations. Pistorius also stated that Germany will use its massive increase in military spending to reduce the defense sector's dependence on China for critical minerals and on the United States for satellite and space capabilities.
