2023-06-20 11:53:00
The SCAF should enter service by 2040 but has already experienced many delays.
Launched in 2017 to replace the French Rafale fighter jets and German and Spanish Eurofighter, the project was the subject of a long blockage last year due to friction between the French Dassault Aviation and the European giant Airbus, pillars of this project supported by the three countries.
It’s official: Belgium is positioning itself to integrate the Scaf
This blockage ended on December 1, 2022 following intense political pressure, with the conclusion of an agreement setting out the division of labor for this vast industrial program.
At the end of May, the boss of Dassault Aviation Eric Trappier said he was opposed to the extension of the program to other countries, fearing new difficulties in sharing tasks between manufacturers.
The French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu had for his part deemed it necessary to “ask the question (…) provided that it is of industrial and military interest”. He had justified it in particular by the need to reduce the costs of a project estimated at around 100 billion euros, according to experts.
Belgium will retain this observer status “initially since we are in a relatively complex phase” of design and production which does not lend itself to more direct participation, said the Elysée.
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