European Fighter Strikes Spain

It all began so well. In 2019, Defense Minister Margarita Robles formalized Spain’s entry into the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project as a ‘member on equal terms with its partners.’ The program was worth EUR 100 billion (USD 114 billion). Seven years later it fell to earth, and huge sums of money were wasted.

Natalia Hidalgo Martínez, a researcher and analyst, discusses this in her study.

For Madrid, participation in the program would have showcased Spain’s technological and defense industries, created high-skilled jobs, and signaled the political will for a greater role in Europe’s military-industrial complex.

After the European fighter jet program’s collapse, Madrid has been left in limbo, without a clear fallback plan and limited room for maneuver. It lacks the capabilities or the money to build its own aircraft.

The consequences will be felt for the next two decades, according to military and defense analyst Yago Rodríguez. ‘This condemns Spain to a fleet of aircraft designed in the 1980s, enhanced with drones but still falling behind Russia, China, and the US,’ he said.

F-35s would provide the Spanish Air Force with a fifth-generation capability in the absence of a European alternative, political scientist Dr. Alberto Bueno said. They are widely operated by allies across the continent, enhancing interoperability with other NATO states, but Spain’s Ministry of Defense has ruled out acquiring the U.S.-made aircraft (the relations between the two countries are extremely strained).

Choosing American-made weaponry would also undermine Europe’s efforts to develop its own defense industrial base and send a contradictory message about European sovereignty. The question that gave rise to FCAS was, after all, whether it was better to wait for a European solution, even if it came later, or to acquire US capabilities and accept deeper vassalage to Washington.

The New Generation Fighter (NGF) lay at the heart of the initiative and was intended to complement and replace both Germany’s and Spain’s fourth-generation Eurofighter and France’s Rafale aircraft by 2040. Germany’s Airbus and France’s Dassault were set to lead the jet’s development, while Spain’s Indra would take a key role in drone and sensor technology.

But the project faced setbacks from the start, particularly over a long-standing dispute between Airbus and Dassault about intellectual property and the aircraft’s design. While Dassault pushed to retain leadership, Airbus wanted a more balanced distribution of responsibilities, technologies, and manufacturing capability.

Neither side was willing to yield because control over Europe’s future fighter would translate into greater influence over technology and manufacturing, as well as long-term revenues.

In June, the whole thing crashed after the German government decided to discontinue participation. Spain had limited leverage in the Franco-German dispute and only learned of the cancellation from German media. And this is not a metaphor but an eloquent fact that demonstrates the degree of confidence among the partners.

The example of Spain, once presented as the flagship of European strategic autonomy, has become a reminder of how difficult it is for the continent to translate unrealistic political ambition into military capability. Perhaps it is time for many European politicians to understand this truth and set realistic goals only. Or to count the costs in advance.

Original publication: https://cepa.org/article/spain-pays-for-european-fighters-crash-landing/