Germany And Spain Launch ‘Team Gen 6’ After Europe’s Next-Gen Fighter Effort Collapses

Summary

Following the collapse of the Franco-German-led New Generation Fighter (NGF) program, Airbus has launched a new initiative called "Team Gen 6" under German and Spanish leadership, representing an attempt to revive Europe's sixth-generation combat aircraft ambitions within the broader Future Combat Air System (FCAS) framework. The initiative currently includes eight German defense and aerospace companies alongside five Spanish firms, all of whom have signed a strategic positioning paper signaling their commitment to developing a superior European air combat system. The original NGF program fell apart primarily due to deep industrial disagreements between Airbus and France's Dassault Aviation over workshare distribution and differing national military requirements, particularly France's need for carrier-based operations and nuclear weapons delivery capabilities that Germany and Spain did not share. Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus's head of air power, acknowledged that the program requires significant restructuring, emphasizing that the strategic landscape has changed dramatically since FCAS was launched in 2017 and that faster development milestones are now essential. As part of the broader effort, Airbus is also pursuing near-term collaborative combat capabilities, including plans to configure Eurofighter jets as "command fighters" capable of operating alongside unmanned platforms, with an operational target date of 2029.