Germany is developing a national combat cloud system, investing €580 million in a contract with Munich-based defense company Helsing, following the termination of a joint sixth-generation fighter jet project with France and Spain. Internal German defense ministry documents reveal the contract for Helsing to develop the core software and test architecture for the Combat Fighter System Nucleus (CFSN).
This includes delivering two experimental uncrewed combat aircraft, two ground control stations, a ground segment, operating system software, and autonomy software. The ministry considers CFSN a backbone for future networked air warfare, despite internal concerns about locking development to a single contractor and plans to avoid additional parliamentary scrutiny for the initial €580 million deal. This politically delicate project aims to salvage elements of the wider Future Combat Air System concept, focusing on the software layer for linking crewed fighters, drones, sensors, and weapons. The contract utilizes a national-security exemption from normal EU procurement rules, with MBDA Germany, Grob Aircraft, Hensoldt, and Rohde & Schwarz listed as subcontractors.
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