Given the sheer costs of developing a next generation fighter -- with its requisite stealth, cutting-edge avionics and highly advanced engine -- it is not clear that any Western European country can afford to go it alone anymore.
Few things in the realm of defense are as enticing as the prospect of a new fighter aircraft. Now, Franco-German cooperation could not only yield a next generation jet fighter, but boost defense integration on the Continent. The two countries agreed in July to proceed with the development of a new jet to eventually replace their existing fighter fleets. The decision, which French President Emmanuel Macron labeled a "far-reaching revolution," also has broad implications for global fighter sales. However, it will take more than a joint fighter project to satisfy Franco-German ambitions for greater European defense integration. The Costs of Defense Given the sheer costs of developing a next generation fighter — with its requisite stealth, cutting-edge avionics and highly advanced engine — it is not clear that any Western European country can afford to go it alone anymore.
