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German defense officials are advising the government to forge a new sixth-generation fighter jet partnership with Sweden and Spain. This strategic shift comes as Berlin seeks an alternative path following the collapse of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program earlier this year.
According to internal Ministry of Defense assessment notes seen by POLITICO, Berlin views a trilateral coalition with Stockholm and Madrid as a more advantageous long-term approach than joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) led by the UK, Italy and Japan.
This potential realignment carries profound industrial, technological, and operational implications for the Baltic region.


Moving Past the FCAS Implosion

The push for a new program follows the collapse of the FCAS initiative in June 2026. The project imploded due to irreconcilable disputes between France's Dassault Aviation and Germany's Airbus Defence and Space over design authority and divergent operational goals—namely, French requirement for a carrier-capable, nuclear-strike system against German focus on continental defense.
While Germany has initiated foundational software architecture under its national Combat Fighter System Nucleus (CFSN) handled by Helsing, Berlin fundamentally lacks the standalone industrial capacity to field a crewed 6th-gen platform alone.
Entering GCAP at this late stage, however, risks relegating German industries to a subordinate role behind BAE Systems. An alliance between Germany, Sweden and Spain would offer balanced workshare distributions and protect local defense competencies.

The Gripen E as a Technological Stepping Stone

The German assessment advocates leveraging Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen E as the technological baseline for the new fighter.
The Gripen E offers three critical operational advantages that align with next-generation requirements and northern theater scenarios:

    • Modular Avionics Architecture: the aircraft uniquely separates its flight-critical software from its tactical mission systems. This allows for rapid updates to combat software without the need for lengthy recertification of the entire flight system, making it an optimal flying laboratory for next-gen AI and combat cloud integration.
    • Northern Logistics and Dispersed Operations: designed specifically for the historical doctrine of dispersal, the Gripen E can operate from short, icy road runways with minimal ground crew and quick turnaround times. This high availability and ease of maintenance are critical for NATO’s Nordic defense strategies, which emphasize resilience in case of potential crisis in the Baltic region.
    • Cutting-Edge Electronic Warfare (EW): the current Gripen E is already equipped with an advanced EW suite combining active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar technology and digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) jammers. Berlin views this existing electronic backbone as a mature baseline that can be gradually evolved into the hyper-connected, multi-spectral EW suites required for 6th-generation warfare.



    Operational Perspectives and Political Crossroads

    For defense strategies across the Baltic Sea and the High North, an Airbus-Saab joint venture would secure a robust, logistically independent European air power ecosystem. It directly addresses the urgent demand for advanced data-sharing, integration between manned and unmanned systems (MUM-T), and highly survivable electronic warfare configurations.

    However, the proposal faces a steep political climb. While internal German Ministry of Defense assessments highlight the advantages of a partnership with Stockholm and Madrid, the Chancellery has simultaneously been evaluating British overtures. This diplomatic duality was highlighted on 8 October 2026, during a bilateral meeting in Berlin between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, where the prospect of Germany joining the GCAP framework was officially raised for ongoing discussion.


    Featured image: the Saab Gripen E in flight. German defense assessments suggest utilizing the Swedish platform as a technological baseline for a future sixth-generation fighter project. (Credits: Saab / Linus Svensson)