French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin said that there is an "urgent" need to make progress on the European fighter jet program FCAS (Future Combat Air System – Future Air Combat System), despite the blocking of negotiations between French and German industrialists, which is irritating Spain, the third party in this delicate issue, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
"It is logical that the three countries can work together and that the industries of the three countries can participate in the construction of the fighter jet", Vautrin said in Madrid, describing the project as "extremely important" for European defense.
The minister spoke in the Spanish capital at a press conference with her Spanish colleague Margarita Robles.
Vautrin recalled the "deadline of 2040", when the future air combat system must replace the French "Rafale" fighters and the German and Spanish "Eurofighter" fighters.
Launched in 2017 by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron as a demonstration of defense cooperation between Berlin and Paris, before Spain joined, the project is estimated at nearly 100 billion euros. However, it is being hindered by tensions between the industrial leaders of the three countries. The tensions have intensified even more after the French aircraft manufacturer "Dassault" (Dassault) has begun demanding greater autonomy in its role as prime contractor on the project, which has angered Madrid and Berlin.
In a statement to the media on Friday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles urged all parties to "make an effort" as the project must be "brought to completion".
"We will do everything possible to make this program a success for our three countries," Robles added, specifying that the program was among the "concrete issues" that would be discussed during today's talks with Catherine Vautrin.
Given the deadlock in discussions, a French representative assured in late September that France was ready to develop "its own" future fighter jet, before Emmanuel Macron calmed spirits by calling on Paris and Berlin "to work on (finding) common solutions".