The budget committee of the German Bundestag is to approve the first 32.5 million euros (36.6 million U.S. dollars) for the new French-German fighter aircraft system FCAS, German media reported on June 5.

FCAS concept art (Picture source: French Defense MoD)

According to a draft paper cited by German media, the money is planned for a concept study to be carried out by the participating companies Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence & Space by the end of 2020.

Germany would bear half of the total costs of 65 million euros, which they share with France, the German newspaper Handelsblatt and online magazine Spiegel reported.

At the 2018 ILA Berlin Air Show, Dassault Aviation and Airbus announced an agreement to cooperate on the development of a stealth fighter jet as a replacement for French Rafale, German Eurofighter and Spanish F-18 Hornet, called Future Combat Air System (FCAS). A test flight of a demonstrator is expected around 2025 and entry into service around 2040.