Germany to unveil aerospace strategy seeking lead role in European military aviation technology
Germany will unveil a new aerospace strategy on June 10 at the ILA Berlin air show that aims to make the country a leader in advanced military aviation technology in Europe, according to German media reports. The strategy ties the development of a sixth-generation fighter to the German aerospace industry and demands that Berlin's financial contributions be matched by industrial participation. The move comes as the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (SCAF) program remains deadlocked over governance disputes between Dassault Aviation and Airbus.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to unveil a new aerospace strategy on June 10 at the ILA Berlin air show that aims to establish Germany as a leader in advanced military aviation technology in Europe, according to German media reports.
The military section of the strategy, reported by WirtschaftsWoche and Handelsblatt, ties the development of a sixth-generation fighter system to the German aerospace industry. The document states that Germany possesses "the expertise necessary to lead or significantly steer such a program in a European or international framework," WirtschaftsWoche reported.
The government commits to ensuring "adequate participation of the German aerospace industry in relevant programs, so that the political, military, technological and industrial interests of the Federal Republic of Germany are taken into account," according to the weekly. The strategy further asserts that Germany must play a leading — or at least substantial — role in European programs. "The participation of German industry must match the federal financial contribution in terms of both quality and quantity," WirtschaftsWoche summarized.
Priority areas identified in the strategy include secure communications, sensors, avionics, effectors, propulsion technologies and materials. "The German government intends to actively promote the development of expertise and industrial capacities in these areas in order to simultaneously guarantee access to technologies, military operational capabilities and economic benefits," WirtschaftsWoche wrote. Handelsblatt reported that the strategy "explicitly" affirms Berlin's commitment to military aircraft manufacturing, stating the sector makes "an important contribution to the protection and preservation of Germany's sovereignty."
The strategy's unveiling comes as the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (SCAF) program remains deadlocked over governance disputes. Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier has repeatedly demanded a single leader for the project: "I am not in favor of a ambitious industrial project that will serve our armies being co-managed. There must be a leader." Airbus, backed by German industrial and political circles, advocates a cooperation model similar to that used for the Eurofighter EF2000/Typhoon. Mediation by former French armaments chief Laurent Collet-Billon and Frank Haun, who worked on the Nexter-Krauss-Maffei Wegmann merger, failed to resolve the dispute.
In April, French President Emmanuel Macron said French and German ministries had been "mandated to work on several axes, not just on the future combat aircraft, but on different levers of cooperation between our two countries." In February, Merz questioned German participation in SCAF before reversing course.
Safran CEO Olivier Andriès said on June 7 that "there is no sovereignty of a country without mastery of combat aircraft design," adding that "there is no mastery of combat aircraft without mastery of the engine" and "there is no mastery of an engine without mastery of the hot parts and the development of the necessary materials." Only four Western companies can develop combat aircraft engines: Safran (France), Rolls-Royce (UK), GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney (US).