Third agreement signed by France, Germany and Spain for the NGWS / FCAS program

On August 30, French Defense Minister Florence Parly met with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Spanish Defense Secretary Esperanza Casteleiro Llamazares. On that occasion, the representatives of the respective defense departments signed the third implementation agreement (IA3) of the NGWS / FCAS (Next Generation Weapon System within a Future Combat Air System) program which covers the activities in the time period 2021-2027.

The signing of this agreement confirms the commitment of France, Germany, Spain and France to develop a new generation fighter aircraft that is capable of facing future threats and challenges that may arise. Furthermore, the Franco-German-Spanish NGWS / FCAS program contributes to maintaining a dynamic European industrial and technological base, thus allowing to strengthen European sovereignty and strategic autonomy in the development of complex weapon systems such as the one represented. from a new generation fighter aircraft.

The objective of the tri-national program is to provide the Air Forces of the participating countries with a wide range of capabilities, thus ensuring operational superiority in highly contested environments.

The agreement signed by the three Ministers is the result of unprecedented cooperation between the national entities responsible for arms matters, the BMVg (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung) in Germany, the DiGAM (Dirección General de Armamento y Material) in Spain and the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) in France. The signing of IA3 confirms the credibility of the cooperation between the three nations participating in the French-led program, demonstrating the ability of Paris, Berlin and Madrid to want and be able to act jointly in strategic areas such as those of the NGWS / FCAS program.

Under the new agreement, the creation of a demonstrator of the technologies that will be embarked on the new aircraft will be facilitated; this demonstrator will begin flight tests by 2027 allowing the consortium industries (Dassault, Airbus, Indra, Safran, Thales, ITP, Hensoldt among the main ones) to simplify the development and development work of the new generation aircraft.

Following the signing of AI3 by the Defense Ministers, the three Chiefs of Staff of the Air Forces of France, Germany and Spain, General Philippe Lavigne, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz and General Javier Salto, have signed the new version of the operational requirements document, the Common Operational Requirements Document (CORD).

This document expresses a common vision on increasingly precise operational needs, coming from the high-level document, the HLCORD (High Level Common Operational Requirements Document) on March 18, 2019.

This signature reflects a significant step forward in the cooperative work of the three Aeronautics on the NGWS within the FCAS project.