Airbus launches German 'Team Gen 6' fighter plan after FCAS split

Eight German aerospace and defense companies signed a 'Team Gen 6' strategic positioning paper at the ILA Berlin air show on June 11, formally committing to build the sixth-generation fighter at the core of a realigned Future Combat Air System. The signatories - Airbus Defence and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA Deutschland, MTU Aero Engines and Rohde & Schwarz - submitted their position paper to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, urging Berlin to award contracts in full by the second half of 2026. The move comes three days after France and Germany agreed on June 8 to scrap the joint FCAS fighter, having concluded the deadlock between Airbus and Dassault Aviation could not be resolved.