Former Airbus CEO Enders: Germany’s FCAS Choice Was a Strategic Mistake
Former Airbus CEO Tom Enders has criticized Germany’s decision to join France in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, calling it a “strategic mistake.”
In remarks to the Financial Times, Enders said Berlin’s 2017 pivot toward a joint sixth-generation fighter project with Paris — instead of maintaining closer defense-industrial ties with the UK and BAE Systems — was shaped by post-Brexit politics. He argued that abandoning decades of Anglo-German combat aircraft cooperation contributed to the leadership and workshare tensions now affecting FCAS.
Enders also rejected the idea of a purely national German fighter program, describing it as inefficient and unrealistic. If FCAS falters, he suggested renewed cooperation with the UK or Sweden’s Saab could be more viable alternatives.
The FCAS program, led by France, Germany and Spain, aims to field a sixth-generation air combat system in the 2040s, but ongoing industrial and strategic disputes continue to cloud its future.
