WORLD
FUTURE COMBAT AIR SYSTEM STUDY BEGINS
FRENCH ARMED FORCES Minister Florence Parly and her German counterpart, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, announced the launch of a joint concept study (JCS) for the Franco-German Système de Combat Aerien Futur (SCAF), or Future Combat Air System (FCAS), in Paris on February 6.
Under the €65-million ($74-million) JCS contract, Dassault and Airbus will formulate diff erent FCAS capabilities. The two-year study began in February and will identify the preferred baseline concepts for the FCAS Next Generation Fighter (NGF), remote carrier (RC) unmanned systems, as well as a ‘system of systems’ and associated next-generation services. Under current plans, Dassault will take the lead on aircraft development, while Airbus will act as a systems integrator.
The study is planned to pave the way for the future design, industrialization, and full operational capability of FCAS, planned by 2040.
The study will prepare and initiate demonstrator programs for launch at this summer’s Paris Air Show, followed by potential first flight of a demo aircraft around 2025.
SCAF/FCAS is described as: ‘a Franco-German co-operation that will provide the two countries with successors f…
