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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Merz and Macron agree to scrap FCAS joint fighter jet programme

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on 13 February, 2026 at the Munich Conference.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on 13 February, 2026 at the Munich Conference. © Liesa Johannssen / REUTERS / Montage RFI

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to abandon a joint fighter jet programme due to long-running disagreements between the companies involved, the German government said on Monday.

The leaders "reached the shared assessment that the companies will not be able to come together on building a joint combat aircraft", a government official told French news agency AFP about the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project.

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