The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint fighter jet programme launched in 2017 by France, Germany, and Spain to develop a next-generation combat aircraft, is facing potential collapse after three missed deadlines and an unresolved dispute over industrial leadership. At the heart of the impasse is French manufacturer Dassault's insistence on leading the €100 billion project, a claim Germany's Airbus partner contests, leaving little room for compromise. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has privately admitted he nearly "pulled the plug," must now weigh the damage to Franco-German relations and European defence cooperation against the risk of yielding control of a strategically vital industry to Paris.