No future coming together of FCAS/SCAF and Tempest, French Senate reports

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (SCAF) and Tempest programmes are likely to remain competitors according to a French Senate report released on 15 July.

A mock-up of the New Generation Fighter that will form the centerpiece of the FCAS/SCAF project was displayed at the Paris Airshow in 2019. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Senators Ronan le Gleut and Hélène Conway-Mouret see no real possibility of both programmes coming together in the future, as has been touted by senior industry and government leaders. According to the two senators, the projects have “no intersection” and mutual interest in any amalgamation is low.

The French senators believe that a rapprochement of FCAS/SCAF and Tempest would become even more difficult if non-European countries were to be involved in the latter, as the UK is currently pushing. Negotiations on the workflow arrangements within a joint programme would also be very complex with so many major prime companies involved – at least Airbus, Dassault, and Indra for the FCAS/SCAF project between France, Germany, and Spain, and BAE Systems and Leonardo for the Tempest project between the UK and Italy.

In conclusion, senators le Gleut and Conway-Mouret believe Tempest should be acknowledged as a potential competitor to the FCAS/SCAF programme. The senators also believe that the existence of these two programmes will make the constitution of a common European defence industrial base difficult.