Dassault confirms an agreement with Airbus to create the combat aircraft of the future
Life-size model of the Future Air Combat System (Scaf) presented at Le Bourget in June 2019. AFP - ERIC PIERMONT
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The CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, confirmed this Thursday, December 1 that an agreement had been reached with the European aircraft manufacturer to develop the ambitious European combat aircraft project.
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“
All blockages have been lifted
,” said Éric Trappier, CEO of French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation in
an interview with
Le Figaro
.
“
We have an agreement with Airbus
,” he announced, adding that the formal signing of the contracts will take place within a few days.
A long-awaited agreement
French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne affirmed on November 25, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, that an agreement had been reached between the two giants of the aeronautics industry for study contracts leading to a demonstrator of
the Future Air Combat (Scaf)
.
"
This presupposes validation by the States and I think it is in progress
," added Elisabeth Borne.
An assertion which had been denied by the spokesperson for Dassault.
“
There was pressure from all sides.
We put some.
We have suffered.
But as long as the industrial agreement had not been concluded, it was premature to announce
it,” Éric Trappier told
Le Figaro
.
From now on, "
we will be able to enter into the execution of the new phase of studies, called 1B, which must prepare the development of a demonstrator, which should fly around 2029
", he added.
The contracts,
"
will be notified by the Directorate General of Armaments, which is the executive agency of the contracts, on behalf of the three partner countries - France, Germany and Spain
", he recalled.
Future air combat system
The Future Air Combat System project was launched in 2017, but has been on hold for more than a year due to tussles between Dassault and Airbus.
The Scaf is supposed to replace the French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofigher fighters by 2040.
The scale of the project, which would amount to some 100 billion euros mentioned, is such that it must be designed at European level.
Carrying it out on a national scale is not an option.
According to Éric Trappier, Dassault Aviation is “
confirmed
” in its
“
role as prime contractor and architect of the aircraft
” and has “
obtained the protection of (its) industrial know-how and (its) technologies.
»
► To read also: Éric Trappier, the formidable salesman of Dassault
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