France's Dassault says can build European fighter jet without Germany / Photo: ERIC PIERMONT - AFP
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France's Dassault says can build European fighter jet without Germany
The head of French defence company Dassault said on Tuesday his firm was capable of building the future European fighter jet by itself as tensions persist with Germany over the multi-billion-euro project.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an inauguration ceremony for a new factory, Eric Trappier also said he was happy for Germans to go it alone.
"The answer is yes," Trappier said when asked whether Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets, could build a sixth-generation fighter jet on its own.
"I don't mind if the Germans are complaining," he added.
"If they want to do it on their own, let them do it on their own," he said.
Launched in 2017 to replace France's Rafale jets and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain, the multinational Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet programme is being jointly developed by Paris, Berlin and Madrid.
However, the project has been stalled by tension between the main industrial partners, France's Dassault and Airbus, which represents German and Spanish interests.
In late August, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius urged France to break the impasse, saying: "The project cannot tolerate any more delay."
Trappier said his company was "completely open" to cooperation, including with Germany, but stressed that France could also go it alone.
"Here, we know how to do it," Trappier said at the ceremony in the northwestern town of Cergy-Pontoise.
"We know how to do everything from A to Z. We have proven this over the past 70 years. We have the skills."
During a visit to Madrid last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany and Spain wanted to try to reach a solution on the fighter jet project by the end of 2025.
"We share the same view: the current situation is not satisfactory, we are not making progress on this project," Merz told reporters in Madrid.
Representatives of Germany, France and Spain are to meet in Berlin in October to try to unlock differences over the project, which aims to enhance the continent's defence autonomy at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.
W.Lievens--JdB
