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Munich / Manching (dpa) - The German Airbus employees fear that France will be left behind in the development of the future European fighter aircraft and Eurofighter successor FCAS.
Currently, only a prototype is planned, which is to be developed and built at Dassault in France based on the Rafale fighter plane, criticized the Airbus Defense Works Council and IG Metall on Thursday.
If Germany renounces its own prototype, “FCAS will become an industrial policy project primarily for France - financed to a considerable extent by Germany”.
Airbus Defense Works Council Chairman Thomas Pretzl said that for the German defense industry and the employees at Airbus and many medium-sized suppliers, a prototype approved in Germany based on the Eurofighter is of central importance.
It is “crucial to transfer the knowledge of the engineers who developed the Tornado and the Eurofighter to the younger generation of engineers.
If Germany does not build its own demonstrator, this know-how will be lost, ”warned Ingolstadt IG Metall boss Bernhard Stiedl.
This would put the German aviation industry and its suppliers on the sidelines.
"In the long term, this would be the end of the industry in our country," warned the employee representatives.
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Germany, France and Spain have agreed to jointly develop the future air combat system FCAS.
It should be operational in 2040 and control a new fighter aircraft, drones and satellites.
With a volume of 300 billion euros, it is the largest armaments project of the coming years.
The centerpiece of FCAS is a new European fighter aircraft that is to replace the Eurofighter and the French Rafale.
With the development of the prototype, one expects a technological boost for civil aviation, for example in unmanned flying.
"Just like France, Germany must develop its own demonstrator," said Pretzl.
The fair distribution of development contracts is essential for successful international cooperation over the next few decades.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210212-99-409799 / 2
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