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Germany’s Merz: remains to be seen whether FCAS will yield joint aircraft

By Thomson Reuters Jan 29, 2026 | 7:44 AM

BERLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ‍on Thursday that the French-German-Spanish FCAS warplane programme was sure to yield ‌joint defence ‌systems, but it remained to be seen whether it would generate joint ​aircraft.

“There will definitely be ‍joint systems,” ​Merz said in ​Berlin. “We are currently ‍in intensive talks with France about the extent to which we will ‍continue to develop and build joint aircraft, ‍and ‍I expect that ​we will ​reach ⁠a joint decision ‌on this within the next few weeks.”

(Writing by Friederike Heine; editing by Matthias ⁠Williams)