Spain agreed with Germany and France to bypass the US. And it will end with a fleet of F-35s because of a French name

Since the end of the Cold War, Europe has tried several times to build large joint military programs capable of rivaling those of the United States, almost always clashing with national interests, different industrial cultures and, of course, technological egos that are difficult to fit into. Each generation of fighters has promised more integration and less external dependence.

Few have managed to fulfill it, and now it was not going to be less.

The surprise that was not. He FCAS was born as a high-caliber strategic ambition: France, Germany and Spain agreed to promote a new generation combat air system to get ahead of the United States and reduce European dependence of American fighters, with the ubiquitous F-35 in all pools.

It was an explicit attempt to surprise technological, industrial and political in front of Washington. Today, that project more than 100,000 million of euros staggers to the point of threatening the opposite result: that Europe will continue buying F-35s and that Spain will end up reinforcing a US fleet just when it had opted for its own alternative.

Dassault, the constant. Here comes an actor with a name of his own who has turned everything upside down. The main blockade does not come from Berlin or Madrid, but from a historical constant in the French military industry: Dassault Aviation.

The Financial Times recalled this morning that the company, controlled by the Dassault family for generations, has demonstrated time and time again that its priority is maintain absolute control of the design and production of French fighters. He already did it in the eighties abandoning the Eurofighterand today he repeats the pattern at the FCAS, refusing to give up technical leadership or accept a shared governance with Airbus.

A project broken from within. Furthermore, the FCAS was designed as an integrated system: a manned fighter, drone swarms, advanced weapons and communication networks, with Dassault leading the aircraft and Airbus the rest.

That balance was blown up when disputes began on specifications, distribution of work and industrial control. France wanted a plane lighter and navalizableGermany another heavier and more versatile one. The technical differences masked a possibly deeper clash: who is really in charge at the heart of the system.

France does not rule as much as it seems. Here another crux appears to understand the mess: although the French State is Dassault’s main client and controls exports, its real capacity to impose decisions is limited. Yes, the company has survived nationalization attempts, political pressures and merger projects for decades, always prioritizing independence and control.

Hence, presidents have passed and ministers have changed, but Dassault remains the same. President Emmanuel Macron has tried rescue the FCAS in multiple diplomatic rounds, but his room for maneuver has narrowed as he nears the end of his term.

Spain, trapped in collateral damage. The Spanish nation entered the FCAS as a partner convinced that the project would allow it break the dependency technology of the United States.

That agreement with Germany and France meant resigning in the short term to the American F-35 in exchange for their own European future. If now the FCAS ends up failing as it seems and Spain ends up resorting again to American fighters, the irony is bitter: because the fault would not be in Washington, but in “home” of an ally.

The outcome that no one wanted to admit. As we counted yesterdaywith the project running aground, Germany is already slipping that it could go on your own or look for other partners, while France protects to their national champion.

From that perspective, the FCAS has become the closest thing to a failed test of European credibility in common defense. For Spain, the risk is now double: losing years betting on a blocked program of billions of euros and being forced to knock on Washington’s door again, although now with less political margin and worse conditions.

He surprise European will have to wait and for now it is diluted, and the old Atlantic balance is imposed again, this time not due to lack of ambition, but because of excess control.

Image | José Luis Celada Euba

In Xataka | Spain, France and Germany could not depend on the “button” of the F-35. So the future European fighter aims for something else

In Xataka | If the question is where is the 100 billion European fighter, the answer is simple: stuck on a dead-end runway