A full-scale mockup of the New Generation Fighter seen at the Paris Airshow 2019. The Airbus CEO has touted the idea that the partners might now develop multiple airframes to satisfy their different national combat aviation needs. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
The partners behind the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (SCAF) programme could develop more than one aircraft to satisfy their New Generation Fighter (NGF) objectives, the CEO of Airbus said on 20 May 2026.
Speaking at the company’s inaugural Defence Summit in Manching, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that, with all other pillars of the FCAS/SCAF project working well, there are “different ways” of France, Germany and Spain proceeding on the problematic core NGF pillar that includes the prospect of two or more airframes.
“We have a difficulty on one of the pillars – it’s not the easiest one. When we look at previous experiences, and in particular in the US taking the best example which is the [Lockheed Martin] F-35 [Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter], at the end it is not just one plane, but actually today the F-35 is three different planes. So I think there are different ways of reaching the same objectives,” he said.
The NGF sits are the centre of the Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) that also includes an unmanned ‘loyal wingman’ and a networking combat cloud. The particular difficulty noted by Faury references a long-standing and ongoing dispute between Airbus and Dassault on the subject of workshare as it relates to the NGF, of which Dassault is the lead contractor for France, with Airbus as partner for Germany and Spain.
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