The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), french: Système de combat aérien du futur; SCAF; es, Futuro Sistema Aéreo de Combate; FSAC) is a European combat

system of systems System of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent s ...

under development by

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Da ...

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

and

Indra Sistemas Indra Sistemas, S.A. () is a Spanish information technology and defense systems company. Indra is listed on the Bolsa de Madrid and is a constituent of the IBEX 35 index. Indra is organized around three business areas: information technologies ...

. The FCAS will consist of a Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) as well as other air assets in the future operational battlespace. The NGWS's components will be remote carrier vehicles (swarming drones) as well as a New Generation Fighter (NGF) - a

sixth-generation jet fighter A sixth-generation fighter is a conceptualized class of jet fighter aircraft design more advanced than the fifth-generation jet fighters that are currently in service and development. Several countries have announced the development of a sixth-g ...

that by around 2040 will replace current France's Rafales, Germany's

Typhoons A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

and Spain's EF-18 Hornets. A test flight of a demonstrator is expected around 2027 and entry into service around 2040.

Contractors

Dassault Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, and led by son Ser ...

will serve as prime contractor for the NGF, while

will lead the development of accompanying remote carrier vehicles and the broader system's supporting combat cloud. It will also be carrier-capable and will fly from the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

's future aircraft carrier.

Safran Aircraft Engines Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It ...

will be the prime contractor for the next-generation fighter aircraft engine, taking the lead in engine design and integration, while

MTU Aero Engines MTU Aero Engines AG is a German aircraft engine manufacturer. MTU develops, manufactures and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines. MTU Aero Engines was formerly known as MTU München. History While the Munich-based en ...

, as the main partner for the first phase of research and technology, will take the lead in engine services. Each country has designated a national industrial coordinator,

for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

The FCAS concept was developed in the frame of the ETAP European Technology Acquisition Programme that was started in 2001 as a co-operation between Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden and Spain. The new FCAS concept was a

System of Systems System of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent s ...

(SoS) approach combining manned and unmanned systems, combat aircraft and

UCAV An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...

, to be more efficient in the envisaged future scenarios than operating with manned systems alone. In 2017 Germany and Spain asked

to start working on a proposal for a new fighter under the name Future Combat Air System (FCAS). At the 2018

ILA Berlin Air Show The ILA Berlin Air Show (German: Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung (ILA)) combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow. It is held every even year at the new Berlin ExpoCenter Airp ...

and

announced an agreement to cooperate on the development of the FCAS. In December 2018, the German Defence Ministry welcomed

's expression of interest in the programme. In June 2019 Spain joined the programme. In December 2019

Safran Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA a ...

and

agreed on the foundation of a 50/50 joint venture that will be incorporated by the end of 2021 to manage the development, production, and the after-sales support activities of the new engine to power the NGF. On 12 February 2020, the first phase (1A) of the research and development program was approved by the German parliament budget committee. It set up the industrial distribution of the first five subprograms.

Development

Initial Demonstrator

Phase 1A - Initial framework contract

Dassault, Airbus, together with their partners MTU Aero Engines, Safran, MBDA and Thales, were awarded the initial framework contract which launches the demonstrator phase. Beginning February 2020 it is expected to cover a period of 18 months of research and development. While it assigned different roles to the above mentioned companies, Spain was left out: * Next Generation Fighter (NGF), with

as prime contractor and

as main partner * Unmanned systems Remote Carrier (RC) with

as prime contractor and

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.MBDA Inc. US Division Co ...

as main partner * Combat Cloud (CC) with

as prime contractor and

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...

as main partner * Engine with

and

as main partner

Phase 1B

Additional suppliers will be involved.

References

External links

* {{Stealth aircraft Proposed aircraft of France Proposed aircraft of Germany Proposed military aircraft French fighter aircraft

New Generation Fighter The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), french: Système de combat aérien du futur; SCAF; es, Futuro Sistema Aéreo de Combate; FSAC) is a European combat system of systems under development by Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Indra Sistemas. Th ...

Stealth aircraft Twinjets Tailless delta-wing aircraft France defense procurement Carrier-based aircraft Spanish fighter aircraft

Contractors

History

Development

Initial Demonstrator

Phase 1A - Initial framework contract

Phase 1B

See also

References

External links