European Procurement of US-Made Fighter Jet Wingmen, NGAD Successors, High-End Drones & Response to Starship Dominance
Europe is not going it alone on next-generation airpower. Instead, it is pursuing a pragmatic hybrid: buying cutting-edge US technology quickly while insisting on local final assembly, software sovereignty, and industrial offsets to satisfy political strategic autonomy demands.
General Atomics (YFQ-42A) announced European-built variant (July 2025) with a German subsidiary doing final assembly in Oberpfaffenhofen.
Kratos (XQ-58 Valkyrie) has an Airbus partnership for European version. It is already flying with European payloads.
No country has placed firm multi-hundred orders yet. Europe wants US autonomy software + performance now but with 40–60 % local workshare. Procurement is moving fast via bilateral deals and urgent operational requirements rather than slow multinational programs.
NGAD / Next Generation Export Plane After F-35
US NGAD (F-47 manned fighter) is US-only for the foreseeable future. Boeing won the manned component. First prototype flight targeted 2028. No export policy announced (similar to F-22 restrictions). The USAF is prioritizing it over additional F-35 buys. F-35 orders drop to ~18 in FY2028.
Europe’s own programs is the FCAS (Future Combat Air System with France/Germany/Spain). It is circling the drain. Germany open to more F-35s and possibly joining GCAP (UK led group). There will soon be three Europe future fighter programs (french group, german group and UK group).
Full GCAP fighter prototype (actual production-representative aircraft) is expecting first flight around 2030. This is not the 2027 tech demo. Italy/Japan are also building their own national flight-test aircraft. Actually could be four or more next generation fighters.
This was reported two days ago by Euronews.
Germany, France and Spain have been working on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) for nearly a decade now to replace the Eurofighter and Rafale jets by 2040. The programme has been stalled due to disagreements between Airbus and Dassault. Dassault is seeking up to 80% of the NGF development and production work in France. The overall FCAS program is in deep crisis. Airbus (Germany and Spain) has publicly said it is open to a two-fighter solution. Separate French and German-led jets under a loose umbrella to keep some pretend cooperation alive.
These dates assume France commits serious funding in the 2027–2030 window.
Unit Price Estimate for Dassault Future Fighter
€220–320 million flyaway cost (2026 euros) per aircraft in a French-only or French-led run of ~200–250 units.
Higher than Rafale (~€80–120M) because it is a true 6th-gen platform.
Comparable to early F-35 estimates but for much lower volume.
Hopes and Promises of True 6th Gen Fighter
This chart has some Dassault spin and BS.
The US has been secretly flying full-scale NGAD technology demonstrators for 5+ years. These were risk-reduction vehicles (not the final F-47 configuration, but very close). This is why Boeing could start building the real F-47 prototype so quickly after winning the contract in March 2025.
Dassault has zero equivalent flying hardware for the NGF. They are still at the digital design and subsystem testing stage. Their “we can build it alone and fly in 2029” claim assumes they get immediate full funding and leadership in the next few months — which is not yet guaranteed. Dassault is making a gen 4.5 fighter with the Rafale.
Actually having a plane that can be used is targeting 2042-2045. IF there is no funding and scheduling delays. 12-20 years behind the F-47.
Dassault is talking a big game right now because the tri-national FCAS is collapsing and they want to force a French-led (or solo) path.
The US F-47 program is in a different league right now, F047 has expensive prototypes flying in secret. Dassault is still mostly on paper and PowerPoint. The PowerPoint software is also american software.
GCAP (UK/Italy/Japan) is nominally on track for 2035 service entry. We will see. All advanced weapon systems have problems. You can believe it when you see them.
The F-35 remains the only realistic high-end export fighter until ~2035+. Germany is actively considering additional F-35 tranche precisely because FCAS is delayed.
There is no US next-gen manned fighter being offered for export right now. Europe’s sixth-gen efforts are fragmented and years behind.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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