Sweden asks Saab to study ‘future fighter concepts’
As Stockholm plots its way forward, Saab CEO Micael Johansson had called for such a study in a previous interview with Breaking Defense.
France’s Thales and Spain’s Indra announce new collaboration agreement
The companies said they aim to work together on cyber defenses and other “critical [defense] systems” to strengthen Europe’s defense industrial base.
UK, Italy, Japan ink GCAP stealth fighter treaty, reveal new program details
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.
Spain signs $500M-plus deal for SIRTAP drones from Airbus
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.
Belgium to join Europe’s FCAS next-gen fighter program in June 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.
Airbus, workers union warn Berlin Eurofighter production could wrap by 2030
Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus Defence and Space CEO, called on lawmakers to “make a fundamental decision” on the procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5 jets by the end of Germany’s current legislative period.
FCAS weighing 4 fighter designs, could make final choice by March 2025
"There is a good working atmosphere and the deliverables are being delivered," Major General Jean-Luc Moritz said of the French-German-Spanish future fighter system project.
Saab CEO calls on Sweden to ‘put more money’ behind next-generation fighter studies
In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, CEO Micael Johansson said he and other European industry leaders also need "clearer objectives" and coordination from NATO and European governments amid the widespread push for munitions.
Spain punches ‘above its weight’ in European Defense Fund investments: Report
Sounding a note of caution however, the report questions if Spain can continue a "high level of performance and involvement" in EDF projects because of industry suppliers reaching a "saturation point."
UK’s Excalibur test bed hits phase 2, flight target set for 2026
Leonardo UK and 2Excel recently won a $150 million contract for the converted 757 aircraft to be packed with tech.
UK official sees ‘unique’ partnership chances for next-gen fighter
“I think it’s a richness of our collective response that we are able to develop what might appear on the surface to be competitive solutions, whether that’s F-35, NGAD, the Franco German cooperation, or our program," said Richard Berthon, the UK Ministry of Defence’s Director of Future Combat Air.
GCAP fighter design to fly within 5 years, as BAE eyes potential export market
“If we deliver solutions in 2035, we’ll be the first mover and one of the first western nations outside the US to deliver sixth-generation [aircraft]," said Herman Claesen, BAE Systems’ Future Combat Air System Managing Director.
What is MBDA’s ‘Expendable Remote Carrier,’ the unmanned aide for the SCAF next-gen fighter?
The 400 kilogram, four-meter-long carrier “could be launched from any platform: an aircraft, a ship, a submarine, a vehicle or a drone,” MBDA's Jean Judde de Larivière said.
Sweden sees no ‘immediate need’ to join future fighter program
“In terms of sixth generation [plans], we’re doing a lot of work in different contexts and different cooperations right now, which is very important for us in trying to figure out [a decision],” said commander of the Swedish Air Force Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman. “Right now its not a procurement program, it is a fact finding program.”
FCAS? SCAF? Tempest? Explaining Europe’s sixth-generation fighter efforts
In which the Breaking Defense team attempts to explain the differences between the UK-led FCAS, the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS, the UK-Italian-Japanese GCAP and all the other sixth-generation fighter development efforts in Europe.