France and Germany have awarded the first-ever contract to Dassault Aviation and Airbus. The agreement is a Joint Concept Study (JCS) which will benefit the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme.
Indeed, the decision by both countries shows commitment in securing European sovereignty and technological leadership in the military aviation sector. Starting date for the two-year study is 20 February 2019. Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said of the contract: “This new step is the cornerstone to ensure tomorrow’s European strategic autonomy.
This planned Next Generation Weapons System consists of a highly capable manned “New Generation Fighter” (NGF) and a set of new and upgraded weapons. Additionally, it will also include a set of unmanned systems (Remote Carriers) linked by a Combat Cloud. Finally, the Weapons system features an Ecosystem embedded in a System-of-Systems FCAS architecture.