SIAE2019: Presentation of SCAF/FCAS

Dassault Aviation and Airbus SE presented at the opening of the Paris Air Show 2019 a full-scale model of the 6th generation multirole fighter aircraft, which is being developed under the Système de combat aérien du futur / Future Combat Air System (SCAF/FCAS) program.

The SCAF/FCAS is being developed in relation to the requirement of France, Germany and Spain, as well as a number of other potential future clients, for a 6th generation multirole combat platform. Aside from the fighter, Dassault Aviation presented also a mockup of a smaller unmanned aerial system (uas), which eventually should be integrated with the manned platform and support its aerial operations. 

The presentation of the fighter and its accompanying systems marked the start of negotiations between industry leaders and interested governments on the first Demonstrator Phase of the SCAF/FCAS program. It’s expected that the contract for further development works could be signed by the end of 2019. 

According to the current timeline, the first Demonstrator Phase of the SCAF/FCAS program should run until mid-2021 and allow for the further development of the new generation fighter, remote controlled carriers and an air combat cloud. A number of other companies, including MBDA Systems, Safran and Thales, will also be involved in this phase.

‘The Joint Concept Study awarded to Dassault Aviation and Airbus in January 2019 was the first step in a fruitful cooperation between both companies. The first Demonstrator Phase marks another decisive step in the Next Generation Weapon System industrial organisation in which the New Generation Fighter, to be built by Dassault and Airbus, with Dassault Aviation as Prime contractor, as well as the Remote Carriers and Air Combat Cloud with Airbus as Prime contractor, will be the cornerstone of the Future Combat Air System’, said Eric Trappier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Aviation.