Spain rules out F-35 order, prioritizes Eurofighter and FCAS
A Lockheed Martin executive previously told Breaking Defense that the F-35 was Madrid's only real option to replace aging Harrier jets for ship-based operations.
A Lockheed Martin executive previously told Breaking Defense that the F-35 was Madrid's only real option to replace aging Harrier jets for ship-based operations.
On the helicopter front, Airbus and Italian manufacturer Leonardo announced they are collaborating on a NH90 Block 2 multirole rotorcraft upgrade architecture study to determine the long term evolution of the type.
Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Senior Reporter Valerie Insinna run down the biggest news from the second day of the Paris Air Show.
“Clearly, we have observed with this [1B] phase, difficulties in the execution," Jean Brice Dumont told reporters during an Airbus media briefing at Le Bourget today.
The F-35 has won every competition it's been in, but now is facing new hurdles from geopolitics and new sixth-gen fighters. What's the best path forward?
"There's [got] to be one European sixth-generation fighter jet, and then we can sell it to all the world. [That's] not the way we're doing it for the moment, and it's very frustrating," Minister Theo Francken said.
MBDA’s Vice President for Europe Arnaud Rousset said that there needs to be “commonality” between both programs, as well as elsewhere across Europe.
Sweden has yet to tell the defense firm exactly the capabilities it needs, but Saab knows "they want us to be fast and quick," a senior company official said.
“We need to lose the generational name because aircraft are going to be evolving all the time," said BAE Systems’ combat air strategy director Mike Baulkwill.
As Stockholm plots its way forward, Saab CEO Micael Johansson had called for such a study in a previous interview with Breaking Defense.
The companies said they aim to work together on cyber defenses and other “critical [defense] systems” to strengthen Europe’s defense industrial base.
The joint effort to get a sixth-gen stealth fighter in the air by 2035 is to be headquartered in the UK, while a Japanese official will be the first program leader.
The Spanish Ministry of Defence said the aircraft will enter service in 2026 — an aggressive timeline considering Airbus only plans to have a prototype in the air by 2025.
Once Brussels joins the program, details about the role it will play at both a funding and an industrial level are expected to be shared.