Airbus Spain named national lead for New Generation Fighter

by Gareth Jennings Dec 9, 2020, 15:27 PM

Airbus Spain has been named as the national contractor for the New Generation Fighter (NGF) element of the Future Combat Air System/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur...

Airbus Spain has been named as the national contractor for the New Generation Fighter (NGF) element of the Future Combat Air System/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (FCAS/SCAF) currently being developed.

The New Generation Fighter of the Next-Generation Weapon System, which is itself part of the wider FCAS/SCAF. With Dassault leading this particular element of the system of systems, Airbus Spain joins its wider Airbus parent company as a partner. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Having previously lost out to Indra as the Spanish lead for the wider FCAS/SCAF system of systems alongside Germany’s Airbus and France’s Dassault, Airbus Spain was announced as being the lead for the NGF on 9 December.

“This contract, signed with French and German industry partners, completes Spain’s onboarding as an equal nation across all FCAS activities,” the wider Airbus group said in a statement. “The signature closes a 10-month process of onboarding Spain as the third nation.”

The contract covers initial work on developing the programme demonstrators and maturing cutting-edge technologies, with the ambition to begin the NGF demo flight tests in the second half of 2026, and fielding as part of the wider FCAS/SCAF system in 2040.

At the same time as announcing Airbus Spain’s new role in the NGF, Airbus said that the wider group has been confirmed as the lead for developing low observable (LO) technologies to feature throughout the FCAS/SCAF. Besides the NGF, the unmanned elements of the system will also feature stealth capabilities to a varying degree.

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