The Spanish authorities announced on September 9 that they were entrusting the company Indra, specialized in aeronautical embedded systems, with the role of national supervisor for the FCAS program. It will, among other things, have the mission of guaranteeing a fair return to the Spanish BITD of the investments made by the country in the European tripartite 6th generation fighter program.
This announcement is far from trivial. Indeed, the second company which claimed this position was none other than Airbus DS, also present in Spain with, in particular, the aircraft manufacturer Casa. However, if Airbus DS Spain is primarily specialized in aircraft design, Indra is specialized in on-board systems, and his appointment upsets the industrial balances expected in the program, in particular the ambitions of Airbus DS, which already ensures this mission for Germany.
Indeed, the industrial sharing negotiated so far for the FCAS program gave Dassault Aviation predominance over aeronautical design, and Airbus DS that over systems. If Spain had designated Airbus DS as national coordinator, the weight of the group would have been strengthened against Dassault to increase its relative industrial share and its influence on aeronautical design, and in fact, to capture more work and know-how. to be sustained in this area for years to come. On the other hand, with the appointment of Indra, Airbus DS is forced to deal with a major player within its own scope as a national representative, knowing that the group has already had to adapt to the arrival of Thales desired by France.
The choice of the Spanish authorities is, moreover, perfectly logical. Indeed, the country does not have the resources to aim, one day, to build a combat aircraft, unlike Germany, which sees in this program the opportunity to increase its industrial skills. In fact, Spain, which already has a privileged position in the design and manufacturing of the European manufacturer's military transport aircraft, prefers to position itself in more promising, because more open, areas of suppliers of technologies and on-board systems.
If the Spanish decision is bad news for Airbus DS, it is also bad news for Thales, which will probably see its scope reduced to meet Madrid's expectations. The French electronics group, which until now had all the know-how to design and implement the systems of a modern combat aircraft, risks being deprived of very important outlets for the sustainability of its know-how, which will, without the slightest doubt, undermine France's ability to develop a new device if the need arises. However, the development of a BITD as efficient and self-sufficient as the French BITD is the result of 70 years of investments and efforts of industrialists, political leaders and taxpayers. Allowing this know-how to wither on the altar of European ambitions rarely shared by our neighbors risks pushing France into the ranks of nations alienated from American technologies.