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DefenceTalk<\/p>\nDefenceTalk<\/p>\n
German lawmakers on Wednesday approved the next phase of a project to build a joint European fighter jet with France and Spain, brushing aside domestic skepticism over the plan.<\/p>\n
The budget committee in the Bundestag lower house of parliament gave the green light for the project, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), to progress to research and development phases 1B and 2 between 2021 and 2027.<\/p>\n
According to a government document seen by AFP, the next steps in the project are set to cost Germany a total of almost 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion).<\/p>\n
France and Germany announced plans to build a common fighter in 2017, with Spain joining later.<\/p>\n
The plane is slated to replace French-made Rafale jets and German and Spanish Eurofighter planes by 2040.<\/p>\n
In Phase 2, France\u2019s Dassault Aviation and European planemaker Airbus are to build a demonstrator aimed at testing the reliability of the jet\u2019s cutting-edge technology.<\/p>\n
Dirk Hoke, head of Airbus Defence and Space, welcomed the committee\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see this as a strong endorsement and trust in the program\u2019s ability to develop further European operational and technological sovereignty, whilst strengthening its aerospace industry,\u201d he said on Twitter.<\/p>\n
But critics in Germany had warned against hasty approval for the next phase of the project.<\/p>\n
Der Spiegel magazine reported in early June that the army\u2019s procurement office had written to the Defence Ministry to say the contract \u201cmust be renegotiated from a technical and economic point of view\u201d and was \u201cnot ready for signing\u201d.<\/p>\n
The deal \u201calmost exclusively satisfies French positions, to the detriment of German industry\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n
Dennis Rohde, a lawmaker for the Social Democrats (SPD), said on Wednesday his party still had \u201cmany questions\u201d about the project and had demanded \u201cclear conditions for further progress\u201d.<\/p>\n
France, Germany and Spain announced in May that they had reached agreement on the next phase of the project, capping months of negotiations over how to share the work and the intellectual property.<\/p>\n
Beyond a next-generation fighter jet, the FCAS programme includes drones and an ultrafast communications network dubbed the \u201ccombat cloud\u201d that will use artificial intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n
The total cost of the programme is expected to reach nearly 100 billion euros.<\/p>\n