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No. 642 SENATE EXTRAORDINAIRY SESSION OF 2019-2020 Filed at the President's Office of the Senate on 15 July 2020 INFORMATION REPORT DRAWN UP on behalf of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee (1) on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), By Mr Ronan LE GLEUT and Ms Hélène CONWAY-MOURET, Senators (1) This committee is composed of: Christian Cambon, Chairman; Pascal Allizard, Bernard Cazeau, Olivier Cigolotti, Robert del Picchia, Jean-Noël Guérini, Joël Guerriau, Pierre Laurent, Cédric Perrin, Gilbert Roger, Jean-Marc Todeschini, Deputy Chairpersons; Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, Philippe Paul, Marie-Françoise Perol-Dumont, Olivier Cadic, Secretaries; Jean-Marie Bockel, Gilbert Bouchet, Michel Boutant, Alain Cazabonne, Pierre Charon, Hélène Conway-Mouret, Édouard Courtial, René Danesi, Gilbert-Luc Devinaz, Jean-Paul Émorine, Bernard Fournier, Sylvie Goy-Chavent, Jean-Pierre Grand, Claude Haut, Mme Gisèle Jourda, Jean-Louis Lagourgue, Robert Laufoaulu, Ronan Le Gleut, Jacques Le Nay, Rachel Mazuir, François Patriat, Gérard Poadja, Ladislas Poniatowski, Christine Prunaud, Isabelle Raimond-Pavero, Stéphane Ravier, Hugues Saury, Bruno Sido, Rachid Temal, Raymond Vall, André Vallini, Yannick Vaugrenard, Jean-Pierre Vial, and Richard Yung. - 3 - CONTENTS Page SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 5 I. FCAS, A COOPERATION PROGRAMME NECESSARY FOR EUROPE'S STRATEGIC AUTONOMY ............................................................................................. 9 A. A NEED FOR CAPABILITIES SHARED BY FRANCE, GERMANY AND SPAIN FOR 2040 ............................................................................................................................. 9 1. Replacing the Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon ............................................................. 9 a) The need for capabilities ............................................................................................ 9 b) Consequences for the future aircraft carrier ............................................................11 2. Keeping a "sovereign" aircraft, maintaining cutting-edge skills ........................................11 B. A PROJECT TO DEEPEN FRANCO-GERMAN COOPERATION ..................................12 1. The impetus created by the Aachen Treaty ........................................................................13 2. Perspectives for strengthening Franco-German operational cooperation to be confirmed ....13 3. Recent progress on Franco-German cooperation on capability ...........................................17 C. SPAIN, A PARTNER HIGHLY MOTIVATED BY THE PROJECT .................................17 1. A solid bilateral defence and security relationship .............................................................17 2. A precious contribution to the FCAS ................................................................................18 D. A PROJECT IN COOPERATION TO SHARE COSTS AND WORK TOWARDS STRATEGIC AUTONOMY ...............................................................................................19 1. A project that would no doubt be too costly for a single country ........................................19 2. A project guided by an imperative of national and European strategic autonomy ...............20 a) Becoming export-competitive once again ................................................................21 (1) Aiming for "exportability" from the start of the programme ........................................... 21 (2) A necessary "dis-ITAR-isation" .......................................................................................... 21 b) A cooperative project encouraged by changes in the international environment ...............................................................................................................21 c) Towards European strategic autonomy? ..................................................................22 (1) A structural project for European industry ...................................................................... 22 (2) A long-term bet on Europe's strategic autonomy, which involves the issue of interoperability ................................................................................................................... 22 d) FCAS and NATO .......................................................................................................24 II. FCAS: FROM A SYSTEM TO A "SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS" .........................................24 A. A NEED DEFINED TOGETHER ......................................................................................25 B. THINKING IN TERMS OF A "SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS": A NEW REQUIREMENT .......26 1. The FCAS's architecture ...................................................................................................26 2. Necessary innovations ......................................................................................................28 3. The challenges of connectivity and the combat cloud .........................................................29 4. Artificial intelligence ........................................................................................................31 5. The challenge of designing a new engine ...........................................................................33 a) An issue of strategic autonomy ................................................................................33 b) A technical challenge ................................................................................................33 6. A necessarily incremental approach ..................................................................................34 - 4 - C. THE FCAS'S POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL STAGES.................................................34 1. The joint concept study .....................................................................................................35 2. Organisation in pillars, phase 1A of the demonstrator .......................................................36 a) Why one or several demonstrator(s)?.......................................................................36 b) A delay of a few months due to difficulties in the Franco-German negotiations .37 c) The seven demonstrator pillars.................................................................................38 d) Work is progressing despite the coronavirus crisis ................................................42 3. Ad-hoc governance and an innovative organisation of government/industry relations .......43 a) A specific organisation ..............................................................................................43 b) The role of the defence innovation agency ..............................................................43 III. MEETING CHALLENGES FOR A SUCCESSFUL FCAS ...........................................44 A. DO NOT GET THE PROJECT WRONG ...........................................................................44 1. Putting artificial intelligence and autonomy capabilities at the heart of the FCAS's development .....................................................................................................................44 2. The crucial importance of data links and the combat cloud and sensors pillars ...................49 3. Which engine for the demonstrator? ..................................................................................50 4. The environmental aspect .................................................................................................51 B. MAKE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SMOOTHER ............................................52 1. A different ranking of political, operational and industrial priorities .................................52 2. Different strategic approaches for France and Germany .....................................................53 a) Different strategic approaches ..................................................................................54 b) "Cultural" misunderstandings between the two partners ......................................55 c) A more complex German decision-making process ................................................58 d) The need for a longer-term commitment to avoid any repeated stalls to the programme .................................................................................................................59 3. The FCAS's exportability: an essential issue .....................................................................60 a) Germany's specific approach to arms exports. ........................................................60 b) Towards pragmatic solutions within the framework of the Aachen Treaty. .........61 C. IMPROVE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION .....................................................................63 1. The "geographic return" principle and the "best athlete" principle ....................................64 2. The unresolved issue of industrial property .......................................................................65 3. What place is there for ONERA? ......................................................................................66 4. Expand the project to new partners once the demonstrator is complete ..............................67 D. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS: CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY BY INVESTING IN THE FCAS .............................................68 E. TAKE THE TEMPEST PROGRAMME INTO ACCOUNT ...............................................70 1. Originally: