As Clock Runs Down, FCAS Nations Consider Separate Next-Gen Jets

Germany, France and Spain promised a decision on a troubled European fighter jet program by year’s end — but with just days left to hit that deadline, leaders might not discuss it on the sidelines of a summit this week, people familiar with the matter say.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are in Brussels for European Council meetings, in which weighty issues are being considered, such as how to turn frozen Russian assets into a reparations loan for Ukraine. As such, a decision on FCAS might be pushed to next week or next year, one of the people said.