Belgium announced its desire to join the largest European arms project. On Friday 16 June 2023, the Council of Ministers agreed to propose the country to join the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) (Payne, 2023; Roberfroid, 2023). Belgium will be first granted an “observer” status for at least months to a year before fully integrating the programme (Pugnet, 2023). During the next year, the Belgian defence industries will be assessed to determine which firms will participate in the industrial development phase of the programme.

The research and development project was launched in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Spain joined two years later. Broadly put, FCAS is a European combat system of systems. At the heart of it is the development of a next-generation jet fighter. It is further accompanied by the development of drones and a “combat cloud” to ensure communication (Roberfroid, 2023). In total, the project is estimated to cost around 100 billion euros (Le Monde, AFP, 2023; Roberfroid, 2023).

The jets are expected to be ready to take the sky in 2040 (Pugnet, 2023; Payne, 2023; Roberfroid, 2023; Le Monde, AFP, 2023). They aim at replacing the French Rafales and Germany’s and Spain’s Eurofighters. Belgium hopes the new jets will succeed its American F-35 by joining the multinational military programme (Roberfroid, 2023). However, the programme has known some delays. It was stopped for a year because of disagreements between French aviation firm Dassault and German giant Airbus regarding the division of labour (Pugnet, 2023; Le Monde, AFP, 2023). Political pressures have resolved the blockage (Le Monde, AFP, 2023).

The French President welcomed the Belgian decision, declaring: “It is a major evolution. This enlargement will further anchor this project at the heart of tomorrow’s air defence in Europe” (Le Monde, AFP, 2023). The FCAS is part of a wider commitment to enhance European defence cooperation. It competes with the British-Italian-Japanese Tempest programme, also known as GCAP (Global Combat Air Programme) (Roberfroid, 2023). The rivalry between the two projects could hinder defence cooperation in Europe due to possible technological incompatibility (Pugnet, 2023).

References

Pugnet, A. (2023, June 20). Belgium Joins Next-Generation European Fighter Jet Programme. Euractiv. https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/belgium-joins-next-generation-european-fighter-jet-programme/.

Payne, J. (2023, June 19). Belgium Looks to Participate as Observer in FCAS Fighter Project. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/belgium-looks-participate-observer-fcas-fighter-project-2023-06-19/.

De Boeck, P., July, B. (2023, June 20). La Belgique devient “observatrive” pour le Scaf : ce qu’il faut savoir sur le futur avion de combat européen. Le Soir. https://www.lesoir.be/520713/article/2023-06-20/la-belgique-devient-observatrice-pour-le-scaf-ce-quil-faut-savoir-sur-le-futur.

Roberfroid, R. (2023, June 16). Qu’est-ce que le SCAF, ce système de combat aérien du futur sur lequel lorgne la Belgique ? RTBF.be. https://www.rtbf.be/article/quest-ce-que-le-scaf-ce-systeme-de-combat-aerien-du-futur-sur-lequel-lorgne-la-belgique-11214318.

Le Monde, AFP. (2023, June 19). La Belgique rejoint le programme de système de combat aérien SCAF. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2023/06/19/la-belgique-rejoint-le-programme-de-systeme-de-combat-aerien-scaf_6178355_3210.html.