Photo: Airbus
An important step for the European FCAS (Future Combat Air System) was made recently, after France, Germany and Spain reached an agreement regarding the next development phase for the New Generation Fighter (NGF) prototype.
The official decision to develop a joint European Air Defense System dates back to 2017, when France and Germany initiated a project that could be considered one of the most important instruments of the European Defense Policy. The FCAS or NGFS (Next Generation Weapon System) consists of a 6th generation fighter jet, unmanned platforms (called Remote Carriers) and an Air Combat Cloud (ACC) that will connect the manned aircraft with the drones and provide warfare analytics based on the data collected from all of them.
According to Airbus, a “new generation” fighter jet means that it’s supposed to be better than anything currently available. The NGF will have not only powerful engines and a high-performance flight control system, but also massive firepower, including hypersonic weapons, directed energy weapons (lasers and microwaves) and cyberattack capabilities.
Two years ago, Spain officially joined in, and at the beginning of 2020, the demonstrator development phase was launched. Dessault Aviation (representing France), Airbus (representing Germany) and, later on, Indra (representing Spain) are the industry partners in the FCAS project, with Dessault leading the development of the fighter jet, and Airbus being the lead in the RC development.
Then, things got a little rocky when the demonstrator was supposed to move on to the second phase, and it’s not surprising, because issues can come up when there are several stakeholders involved. But now it looks like things are back on the track for the European NGF, after the Defense Ministers of the 3 countries, together with representatives of the main industry partners, reached an agreement regarding the next phase in the process.
If all goes smoothly from now on, the new-generation fighter demonstrator will be ready for its first flight in 2027, and the NGF will become operational by 2040.
According to Airbus, a “new generation” fighter jet means that it’s supposed to be better than anything currently available. The NGF will have not only powerful engines and a high-performance flight control system, but also massive firepower, including hypersonic weapons, directed energy weapons (lasers and microwaves) and cyberattack capabilities.
Two years ago, Spain officially joined in, and at the beginning of 2020, the demonstrator development phase was launched. Dessault Aviation (representing France), Airbus (representing Germany) and, later on, Indra (representing Spain) are the industry partners in the FCAS project, with Dessault leading the development of the fighter jet, and Airbus being the lead in the RC development.
Then, things got a little rocky when the demonstrator was supposed to move on to the second phase, and it’s not surprising, because issues can come up when there are several stakeholders involved. But now it looks like things are back on the track for the European NGF, after the Defense Ministers of the 3 countries, together with representatives of the main industry partners, reached an agreement regarding the next phase in the process.
If all goes smoothly from now on, the new-generation fighter demonstrator will be ready for its first flight in 2027, and the NGF will become operational by 2040.
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