After the appeal of patrice Caine, CEO of Thales, it is the turn of Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, to call for the reconciliation of programs SCAF bringing together Germany, Spain and France, and the TEMPEST program led by the United Kingdom, with the support of Italy and Sweden. But beyond declarations of intent, is this merger relevant, or only possible, given the parameters surrounding the two European programs?
Lessons from the past
At the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, Europe managed to develop 3 fighter aircraft programs, the Rafale French, the Swedish Gripen and the Typhoon bringing together Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. These 3 devices have waged a ruthless trade war over the years, eating into manufacturers' margins, and limiting the profits of export programs to reach industrial thresholds allowing economies of scale, whether in terms of design, manufacturing, use and evolution.
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