French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a news conference following a Franco-German joint cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 13, 2017. Stephane Mahe, Reuters
Reuters: France and Germany to develop new European fighter jet
PARIS (Reuters) - France and Germany unveiled plans on Thursday to develop a European fighter jet, burying past rivalries as part of a raft of measures to tighten defense and security cooperation.
The move to develop a new warplane accelerates steps that are expected to shape the future of the European fighter industry and its three existing programs - the Eurofighter, France's Rafale and Sweden's Gripen.
The move also reflects efforts to give fresh impetus to Franco-German relations in the aftermath of Britain's decision to leave the European Union and was described by defense experts as a snub to Europe's leading military power.
France and Germany aim to come up with a roadmap by mid 2018 for jointly leading development of the new aircraft to replace their existing fleets of rival warplanes, according to a document issued after a Franco-German cabinet meeting in Paris.
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Update: France and Germany tighten ties and plan to develop fighter jet -- Financial Times
WNU Editor: Developing a new fighter jet is not cheap, but their fighter jets are getting old, and I guess they want to be independent from U.S. military suppliers.
5 comments:
So soon? The Eurofighter/Typhoon is a top tier fighter. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with.
The EU is saddled with several other expensive commitments - like accommodating any/all Arab refugees and their towering welfare state. To proclaim agreement on a new fighter is way different from actually building one.
/maybe in ten years....
Christ, jusy buy the swedish 4.5 gen, it is one of the worlds most potent bang for your buck aircraft.
The Eurofighter's a 4.5 gen Multirole that started development in 1986, entered in service in 2003, and will remain in service until 2035,
The Rafale's a 4.5 gen Multirole that started development in 1982, entered service in 2001, and will remain in service until 2030 for the Naval Variant and possibly 2040 for the Air Force Varient.
The "problem" with the Saab Gripen, is US parts and components allow the US a veto over Sweden's export of the aircraft.
Germany and France have entered into a joint agreement to develop and manufacture a 6.0 gen Fighter that will probably not enter production until 2025 or so and is targetted to enter service some time in the late 2020's or early 2030's.
Development lead times for late gen Fighter aircraft tends to take about 20 years from concept, development, technologies development to entering production and first service.
Well, that's pretty unclear for me. I'm accustom of European relationship, I lived there more than half a century and I can tell these words are just what they are. We have to know more details to be sure there is something real.
It's a post Trump, post Brexit positioning,
Given all the past failed EU/Brit/NATO projects that failed fue to squabbling over money and production,
Right now, you are right, it's just an announced project,
But it's interesting because British AeroSpace, normally a key partner, and a key reason for failure, hasn't post Brexit, even been invited to the table.
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