By Bertrand Benoit, Alistair MacDonald and Stacy Meichtry
Germany has pulled out of a stalled stealth-fighter project with France and Spain whose lack of progress has become a symbol for the hurdles Europe faces in rebuilding its militaries as the U.S. reduces its presence on the continent.
Berlin will no longer pursue building and ordering the aircraft after failing to resolve a spat between Airbus and Dassault over which should take the lead on its development, a senior German government official said.
Germany and France will continue to work on other aspects of the project, including the so-called "combat cloud," an artificial-intelligence-powered system linking the future aircraft with swarms of drones and other weapons.
The French and German defense ministries will meet in July to develop a realistic road map for future defense cooperation based on a limited number of more relevant and realistic projects, the German official added.
The Future Combat Air System was intended to be the three countries' answer to the most recent U.S., Chinese and Russian stealth fighters, plugging a hole in Europe's armories and possibly surpassing the U.S. F-35 in capabilities.
Instead, it has become the most high-profile example of how Europe has at times struggled to turn what is among the highest levels of military spending by any aligned group of countries in the world into a coherent effort that yields more than the sum of its parts.
This is becoming a pressing problem for Europe, which is facing increased vulnerability as the U.S. begins pulling military assets out of the region.
Security officials in the region fear this could incite Russian President Vladimir Putin to stage a confrontation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization before Europe has managed to close the void left by the U.S.
The move leaves Germany, an early pioneer in the airspace industry, without a fighter-aircraft program to work on. Companies working on the rival GCAP program have said their aircraft is so far along that it would be hard to redivide work share on it. The companies aren't currently talking to Airbus about their joining the project, according to a person familiar with the matter. Still, that decision would be a political one, and Germany has worked with Italy and the U.K. on aerospace projects in the past.
Berlin has yet to decide whether it will seek to join another multinational aircraft project already under way, the German official said.
On a longer time scale, Europe also needs to develop a broader array of weapons on its own and become less reliant on the U.S. for protection.
Trump has questioned U.S. commitment to the defense of Europe, while the U.S. defense industry has also struggled to produce enough weapons to supply Europe with orders of missile-defense systems, missiles, the F-35 jet fighters and other weapons.
In recent years, the U.S. has redirected European orders of Patriot interceptors, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and other weapons to itself, Ukraine and potentially Middle East allies. Meanwhile, European nations -- including Germany -- face long waits for the F-35.
European lawmakers and defense experts have also considered whether the F-35 jet fighters would work out if the U.S. pulled support. All jets need spare parts, software and other updates from their manufacturers. Lockheed Martin's F-35 has become an emblem of European dependence on the U.S. for some parts of its defense.
That has increased a desire for Europe to make enough of its own weapons. The U.K., Germany, Poland and others, for instance, are working on several projects to develop missiles with a range of over 1,000 miles, a capability the region has had little of for decades.
To be sure, Europe is self-sufficient in many weapons systems. Its naval ships outsell U.S. equivalents around the world.
Europe has ramped up military procurement in response to Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But these efforts have often been uncoordinated, resulting in overlaps, inefficiencies, a general lack of scale and sometimes incompatibilities.
Big cross-border projects such as FCAS were supposed to overcome these limitations, but in practice, it has often proven difficult for governments and defense contractors to collaborate across borders.
The project has evolved through various iterations in two decades, but it took a wrong turn last year when Eric Trappier, Dassault's chief executive, insisted his company should lead the effort because of its record in building combat aircraft. Airbus, whose defense business sits mainly in Germany, pushed back.
Following numerous exchanges on the topic over the past year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron came to realize that the companies couldn't be forced to cooperate, the German official said. After a final conversation with Trappier, Merz suggested France forge ahead on its own with the aircraft part of the project, the official said.
While the decision is a setback for European defense, Berlin hopes it will remove an irritant with Paris as the two countries implement an agreement to begin the process of extending France's nuclear deterrent to Germany and other European countries.
Write to Bertrand Benoit at bertrand.benoit@wsj.com, Alistair MacDonald at Alistair.Macdonald@wsj.com and Stacy Meichtry at Stacy.Meichtry@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 08, 2026 11:24 ET (15:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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