Europe's 6th Generation Fighter Breakup - The End of FCAS & What Next for the 6th Gen Race?

International cooperation in defence is one way to potentially combine national strengths, share costs, and build the kind of systems that individual nations might struggle to match. At its best, it can produce world standard kit and help equip multiple allies. At its worst, it can see billions expended and years wasted to ultimately not even come close to producing a functional fighter. Guess which of those is more applicable here. Today I discuss the impacts of the collapse in FCAS/SCAF and what it might mean mean for the countries involved, the broader 6th gen race and the other large partly European 6th program as it fights funding battles of its own. Patreon:   / perunau   Reading and Sourcing (Partial): Germany and France drop joint fighter jet project https://www.reuters.com/business/aero... Open letter by former UK Defence Secretary John Healey https://x.com/JohnHealey_MP/status/20... F-47 infographic and combat radius (2025) https://www.defenseone.com/defense-sy... F-47 Won’t Be Available Until Mid-2030s https://www.airandspaceforces.com/f-4... F-47 could see multiple versions built (2025) https://www.twz.com/air/f-47-fighter-... SCAF to fly from carriers (2019) https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/... Franco-German fighter effort collapses https://www.twz.com/air/franco-german... Interview with Combined Team Project Director (2023)    • Dans les coulisses du SCAF - avec le Direc...   Discussion of SCAF collapse https://theconversation.com/germany-p... https://theconversation.com/what-the-... Airbus looks to SAAB as sixth generation plans unravel https://www.twz.com/air/airbus-looks-... Reporting on PRC's GJ-11 https://www.twz.com/air/chinas-gj-11-... Germany would be a strong GCAP partner - Leonardo https://www.reuters.com/business/aero... https://www.defensenews.com/global/eu... Tempest aims for extreme range https://www.twz.com/air/tempest-futur... Reporting on Tempest Effectors https://www.twz.com/air/uk-emphasizes... Reporting on rumoured delays to Tempest funding https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026... Reporting on SCAF collapse https://www.theguardian.com/business/... https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg... Mertz calls for more independence from the United States https://www.theguardian.com/world/202... TASS - Russia's Sukhoi comes up with 6th gen fighter designs (2016) https://tass.com/defense/860142 Reporting on F/A-XX https://www.twz.com/air/northrop-defe... Airbus drone presentation 2022 https://x.com/GarethJennings3/status/... Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or any other decision, evaluation, or similar. Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character. Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:01:43 — What Am I Talking About? 00:02:13 — the Sixth Gen Race 00:11:32 — SCAF: The Dream 00:15:03 — Clash Points 00:29:40 — What Next? France 00:37:18 — What Next? Germany 00:41:45 — Turning to Tempest? 00:56:46 — What Next? Spain 00:58:21 — the Sixth Gen Race Today 01:00:59 — Channel Update