French Defense Ministry Approves Contract To Begin European FCAS Fighter Jet Construction

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published December 16, 2022 | 10:24 PM

The French Defense Ministry on Friday approved a contract between four aircraft manufacturers and military companies to begin developing a demonstration model of the European FCAS (Future Combat Air System) fighter jet.

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2022) The French Defense Ministry on Friday approved a contract between four aircraft manufacturers and military companies to begin developing a demonstration model of the European FCAS (Future Combat Air System) fighter jet.

"The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), on behalf of the three countries involved in the project, in which France plays a leading role, has approved the contract for the next stage of development between Dassault Aviation, Airbus Defense and Space GmbH and Airbus Defense and Space SAU, as well as Indra (Spanish information technology and defense systems company) and Eumet (French-German company for FCAS fighter engine development). This contract is aimed at preparing and implementing demonstration models of various FCAS components," the ministry said in a statement.

This development stage will define the concept and technology of the new fighter's operating system.

The first phase of the contract will last 36 months and will cost 3 billion Euros ($3.1 billion), while the cost of the full contract will amount to 8 billion euros, the statement read.

On December1, French company Dassault Aviation and German and Spanish subsidiaries of Airbus reached an agreement to move to a new stage in the development of the FCAS fighter jet after a year of tough negotiations.

A joint project between France, Germany, and Spain to develop a new FCAS fighter jet was launched in 2017. The project aims to create a replacement for the French Rafale jet, owned by Dassault Aviation, and the Eurofighter jet being developed by a consortium of Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems.

FCAS is Europe's largest weapons project, with an estimated cost of $106 billion.�