BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will continue to develop the Future Combat Aircraft (Scaf) project with France, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday, denying reports in some media concerning a withdrawal from Berlin.
“I have the firm intention of continuing the projects of the future Scaf fighter aircraft and the MGCS tank system with France and making them a success,” Boris Pistorius said during a meeting with German generals.
Launched in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a time when the European Union was weakened by the British decision to leave the community bloc and by the migrant crisis, the Scaf project has since been the source recurring tensions between France and Germany.
Spain is also participating in the Scaf project, as well as the Dassault Aviation and Airbus groups.
On Wednesday, Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus, said he saw no evidence to suggest that Germany was preparing to abandon the Scaf project when he was questioned about an article in the British Times, according to which Berlin would consider opting for a competing project involving Britain, Italy and Japan.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Zhifan Liu, editing by Blandine Hénault)
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