BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium will propose to participate as an observer in a Franco-German-Spanish new fighter jet project dubbed the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a spokesperson for the country’s ministry of defence said on Monday.
“I confirm that the council of ministers accepted to propose our country as observer in the Franco-German-Spanish research and development in the FCAS,” Ludivine Dedonder, Belgium’s minister of defence, said in a statement.
“I am pleased that Belgium can participate in the development of future technologies.”
The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), first announced in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is designed to replace the Eurofighter and Dassault’s Rafale with a combination of manned and unmanned aircraft from 2040.
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Toby Chopra)
