FCAS was structured around seven development pillars: the New Generation Fighter, Remote Carriers, Combat Cloud, engine, sensors, stealth, and simulation environment.
Phase 1A was signed on 12 February 2020. The contract was worth sixty-five million euros and ran for eighteen months. It covered concept studies, initial system architecture, and technology assessment. The Bundestag budget committee approved it in advance.
Phase 1B followed in May 2021. It covered the design of the NGF airframe and Remote Carrier systems, demonstrators for both, integration and test strategies, and an initial production plan. The NGF demonstrator was scheduled to make its first flight by the summer of 2026.
By the summer of 2026, the programme was cancelled.
What Phase 1B produced before cancellation: two full-scale NGF design concepts from Airbus and Dassault, which shared no agreed configuration; one UCAV concept model unveiled by Airbus at the ILA in 2024; and architecture documents for the Combat Cloud. No aircraft flew.
France's required configuration diverged from Germany's throughout the programme. France needed a carrier-capable aircraft optimised for nuclear strike. Germany needed a Eurofighter replacement. Neither requirement was subordinated to the other. The Bundestag budget committee had approved the spending in advance each time.
Team Gen 6, announced three days after the cancellation, now covers the same seven pillars. The budget has not been announced.
What survives from nine years: the Combat Cloud specification.