Emmanuel Macron stressed the “obligation to achieve results” together with the German Chancellor

Launched in 2017 as a symbol of defense cooperation between Berlin and Paris, before Spain joined, the project struggled to get off the ground due to differences of opinion between the companies involved.

This is a “credibility test” for Europe, according to Emmanuel Macron. The European fighter aircraft program (Scaf) has a “results obligation”The President of the Republic underlined, Tuesday 18 November, with Friedrich Merz, while discussions between French and German industrialists reached an impasse. “We believe in this, we are moving forward and we will send the right message to the industry”the French head of state said at a technology sovereignty summit in Berlin.

Launched in 2017 as a symbol of defense cooperation between Berlin and Paris, before Spain joined, the project struggled to get off the ground due to differences of opinion between the companies involved. Especially since French aircraft manufacturer Dassault, appointed as prime contractor by all three countries, is now demanding greater autonomy, to the annoyance of Madrid and Berlin. The cost of this project is estimated at more than 100 billion euros.

“We will discuss this in the coming days and make a decision on how to proceed to the next phase” at the end of the year, the German Chancellor then explained, adding that the project would be mobilized “quite a large amount” and a “significant effort” for these three countries. The Scaf is expected to replace the French Rafale and the German and Spanish Eurofighter by 2040, in the context of European rearmament in the face of rising tensions with Russia.