Europe’s ambitious Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint program by France, Germany, and Spain to build a next‑generation stealth fighter to rival US, Chinese, and Russian aircraft, is facing major setbacks and deep political and industrial divisions, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Disagreements over leadership, national requirements, and industrial roles, especially between France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany‑backed Airbus, have stalled progress and raised doubts about whether the project can succeed as planned.

As noted by the Financial Times, the turmoil reflects wider structural problems in European defense collaboration, where competing national priorities and industrial interests frequently complicate large multinational weapons projects, despite Europe’s substantial combined defense spending.