Dassault Aviation and Airbus unveiled a mock-up of the Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) fighter at the 2019 Paris Airshow. The aircraft will require a new type of propulsion system

The NGWS is intended to deliver a sixth-generation fighter into a number of European air forces, and will require a leap forward in terms of jet engine technology

The two variations of a twin-finned low observable aircraft, of broadly similar configuration to the F-35, incorporating stealth features including fuselage shaping, edge-alignment and jagged, serrated doors, panels and engine nozzles.

The NGWS fighter is a 'system of systems' approach that will incorporate swarming Remote Carrier loyal wingman drones

As Europe's largest defence programme in the coming decades, FCAS aims to push innovation and technological boundaries

France's FCAS project suggests that stealth will be a key element of its sixth-gen fighter design
The next-generation fighter (NGF) element of the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS/SCAF programme was intended to be ready for service by 2040, but workshare issues might lead the programme to slip

Dassault’s history of leading aviation programmes has given it the confidence to pursue a similar path with SCAF, although difficulties remain in getting all parties to agree

As with the UK-led Tempest project, the FCAS/SCAF programme envisions a sixth-generation fighter as part of an ‘air combat cloud’ that includes various other assets, including unmanned platforms

Europe's FCAS is now a step closer

A manned aircraft, working alongside a UCAV and swarms of weapon-carrying and sensor­carrying Mules, is this vision of an FCAS.

The Airbus FCAS concept is intended to connect and integrate a disparate force of cooperating manned and unmanned platforms.