The simmering spat between France and Germany bubbled over publicly when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Machtwechsel podcast that the collaboration to build a nuclear-capable fighter jet with France is "not what we currently need in the German military." The project, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), was launched in 2017 with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel and still-in-post French President Emmanuel Macron , but now looks in jeopardy. Europe is scrambling to become a