Europe’s next-generation fighter jet project may collapse if row continues, says warplane maker

Dassault Aviation says €100bn project may soon be ‘dead’ if Airbus will not agree on how to share workload

France and Germany’s next-generation fighter jet project could soon be “dead”, one of the two companies tasked with delivering it has warned, amid a worsening corporate rift over who gets to build the aircraft.

Dassault Aviation, France’s leading warplane maker, said Airbus’s defence arm – which represents Germany and Spain – needed to cooperate on the €100bn programme otherwise it would collapse.