Eight German aerospace and defense companies signed the Team Gen 6 strategic positioning paper at the ILA Berlin air show on June 11, 2026, formally committing to take responsibility for the sixth-generation fighter aircraft at the core of the realigned Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
The signatories are Airbus Defence and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA Deutschland, MTU Aero Engines, and Rohde & Schwarz. In a statement, Airbus called the signing “an exciting step for European sovereignty” and said that while development of the overarching FCAS ‘system of systems’ is progressing as before, the fighter within it “requires a new, agile industrial setup.”
The consortium’s position paper, submitted to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s office and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, urges Berlin to award contracts in full and on schedule by the second half of 2026.
Spanish industry rallies up
Airbus added that Spanish industry is organizing in close integration with the German partners, naming Indra, Airbus, Grupo Oesía, GMV, ITP Aero, and Sener. Madrid had already hedged its position ahead of the Franco-German split by approving funding for a joint Airbus-Indra study on a future national combat air system.
A concept video released alongside the statement shows a notional crewed fighter flying in formation with uncrewed aircraft resembling two platforms from Airbus’ newly renamed drone portfolio: the U760 Ravenstorm uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft unveiled at ILA Berlin 2026 on June 9, 2026, and the U740 Valkyrie, the version of the Kratos XQ-58A that Airbus, in partnership with Kratos, aims to deliver to the German Air Force by 2029.
The fighter depicted in the concept video is a canard-delta with large forward canards positioned well ahead of a broad, low-aspect-ratio, swept main wing that extends upward at the tips. The fuselage is wide and heavily faceted, with a deeply blended cockpit canopy and a ventral intake under the forward section.
An exciting step for European sovereignty at ILA Berlin: "Team Gen 6", a group of eight leading German defence and aviation companies signed a strategic positioning paper. The German and French governments have announced a realignment of the European Future Combat Air System… pic.twitter.com/aZcjAaO6dE
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 11, 2026
Berlin keeps its options open
The signing came three days after France and Germany agreed on June 8, 2026, to scrap the joint FCAS fighter after concluding that the deadlock between Airbus and Dassault Aviation could no longer be resolved.
Both governments will continue developing the shared ‘system of systems’, with the division of responsibilities expected to be discussed at the next Franco-German ministerial council on July 17, 2026.
“We are ready to assume responsibility,” Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn said on June 10, 2026, stressing that the group is not seeking a purely national program but a leading role for German industry within a European framework.
Pistorius has so far been noncommittal, describing the project as one possible option while Berlin also weighs additional Lockheed Martin F-35 purchases or entry into an existing effort such as the Global Combat Air Programme run by the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan.
Team Gen 6, for its part, said it is now seeking “close alignment with policymakers” and the German Air Force.