An alliance headed by Airbus has proposed building a new next-generation fighter jet after a high-profile French-German warplane project fell apart, according to media reports Tuesday.
The news came a day after Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron pulled the plug on the original program after long-running disagreements between the firms involved.
The new group, dubbed "Team Gen 6," comprises Airbus Defence and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA, MTU Aero Engines and Rohde & Schwarz.
The proposal had been sent to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a Munich-based defense electronics firm Hensoldt spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Financial Times, which first reported the development, said it had also been sent to Merz's office.
The companies had "jointly drawn up a position paper on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the associated Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS)," the Hensoldt spokesperson said.
Further information on the proposal would come on Thursday in an announcement at the Berlin ILA Air Show, the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry confirmed the proposal's existence, while Pistorius said Berlin was considering "which direction we take."
"We've also been in discussions on this for months with various stakeholders," he added.
The failure of the original Franco-German project "pained" him, he said.
"I know how important Franco-German cooperation is in Europe, but ultimately you have to draw a line between head and heart."
Industry sources told Reuters the latest move did not amount to an attempt to launch a new fighter project.
The original project was seen as a key test of European efforts to work more closely on defense as the region seeks to present a united front in the face of a hostile Russia at a time of souring ties with the United States.
But it was dogged by bitter disputes between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, representing Spanish and German interests.
The German side had bristled at Dassault's efforts to take greater control of building the aircraft.
Merz, meanwhile, had said that Germany, unlike France, did not need jets that could carry nuclear weapons or fly from aircraft carriers.
