Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Tuesday slammed France and Germany for failing to agree on a joint program to build a new fighter jet.
“I was extremely disappointed to read that France and Germany cannot reach agreement on the development of a European sixth-generation airplane. What a waste of time, what arrogance,” he said at an event in Brussels, adding: “This is that we have chosen, to be irrelevant in a crucial part of air defense, not only now, but in a decade as well. This is pure stupidity.”
The Future Combat Air System, which also involves Spain, was meant to replace Germany’s Eurofighter and France’s Rafale jets by around 2040. Belgium is an observer member.