Dassault Aviation and Airbus have decided to join forces for the development and production of Europe’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) during ILA Berlin. The FCAS will be developed to replace current generation of Eurofighter and Rafale fighter aircraft between 2035 and 2040.

FCAS defines a system of systems combining a wide range of elements connected and operating together, including a next generation fighter aircraft together with Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the existing fleet of aircraft (which will still operate beyond 2040), future cruise missiles and drones flying in swarms. The overall system will be interoperable and connected in a larger perimeter with mission aircraft, satellites, NATO systems and land and naval combat systems. 

Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, said: “The FCAS programme will strengthen the political and military ties between Europe’s core nations and it will reinvigorate its aerospace industry.”