Lethe
Captain
That France would require FCAS to be both nuclear- and carrier-capable was obvious from the outset. These items could only have come as a surprise if German politicians had signed up to the joint effort without giving it even the slightest thought or seeking even the most cursory advice. I'm sure Chancellor Merz does not wish to imply that his predecessors were that incompetent.
There are any number of plausible reasons why a collaboration of this nature could fail to progress, and certainly many of them involve French intransigence. But if Chancellor Merz is putting the French requirement for carrier compatibility forward as a roadblock, it implies that it is Germany's position that has changed, rather than that of France.
Of course it is entirely reasonable for German requirements to change, and one can certainly imagine why they might've, i.e. the war in Ukraine. It could well be that Germany is pushing for a larger aircraft with more range and payload, akin to GCAP, while France wants to hold size and weight down for carrier operations and perhaps future export prospects, a repeat of one of the behind the Rafale/Typhoon split.
On the other hand, perhaps Berlin should reconsider just how "irrelevant" a nuclear-delivery capability actually is for FCAS.
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