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BERLIN—Spanish aerospace and defense companies have bandied together like their German counterparts to create a united industrial front to urge their government to move with pace to define a future fighter program in the wake of the demise of cooperation with France for a Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
The companies that are calling themselves the Spanish Next-Generation Weapon System include Airbus, Indra, GMV, Grupo Oesia, propulsion house ITP Aero, and Sener. It is analogous to Team Gen 6 that formed in Germany.
The Spanish partners also called for their government to move with pace, saying they were ready to execute a program. “We cannot afford to lose any more time,” the declaration says.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking at the ILA Berlin Air Show here, welcomed these initiatives, but said it would be premature to say whether working with these teams would be the path forward. “We have to very closely explore who can do what with whom and how quickly and at what cost,” he said, noting industrial participation would also be a factor.
Like the German team, the Spanish group members said they were ready to work with European partners. They also said they would be able to deliver a fighter for service entry around 2040.
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