A group of eight aerospace and defense companies, led by Airbus, is planning to form a consortium to develop a German-led European alternative to the moribund next-generation Franco-German fighter jet. According to market news, Airbus Defense and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defense, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA, MTU Aero Engines and Rohde & Schwarz Schwarz proposed the idea in a letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz's office and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius earlier this week.
According to people familiar with the matter, the group will announce the formation of the alliance called "Team 6" at the International Aerospace Exhibition in Berlin later this week.
"This is a signal that as German industry we are ready to develop a sixth-generation fighter locally for Europe," one of the people said.
The expected announcement came as Mertz told French President Emmanuel Macron last week that the two countries' troubled fighter jet partnership on the €100 billion Future Air Combat System project would be better off ending. The project had previously been stalled by a bitter industrial dispute.
German companies involved in the Future Combat Air System project, including Airbus' Germany-based defense arm, are increasingly frustrated that politicians in Berlin and Paris have failed to find a way to resolve their differences or declare the project dead.
Following Mertz's decision, the companies will announce they are ready to integrate their capabilities as a core team to ensure air "readiness" for decades to come, according to a draft position paper.
The goal of the alliance is to show that German industry is ready to work with European partners to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet for Europe, people familiar with the matter said. One possibility is to continue cooperation with Spain, which is also involved in the Future Air Combat System project, and pair it with Sweden.
People familiar with the matter said that while details are still being negotiated, the CEOs of the eight companies plan to meet at the Berlin Air Show in the middle of this week to sign and announce the formation of the alliance.
Mertz's decision to end the Joint Fighter Plane program means Germany must now find a replacement for an aircraft that was supposed to be the backbone of its air force from the 2040s onwards.
Germany reportedly notified France on Monday that it would end cooperation in jointly developing fighter jets, which could deal a fatal blow to Europe's largest defense project as the continent seeks to rearm to deal with the Russian threat.