F-35A from Hill Air Force Base land at Royal Air Force Lakenheath as part of deployment under the US European Command area of responsibility. Credit: US Air Force, photo/Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew/commons.wikimedia.org.

France-based Dassault Aviation has announced the launch of the European Commission’s new project, the European Initiative for Collaborative Air Combat Standardisation (EICACS).

The beginning of this three-year study project was marked by a meeting held at the company’s headquarters in Saint-Cloud, France.

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Dassault Aviation is undertaking this project in close collaboration with its European combat aeronautics industrial and research partners.

Awarded as part of the 2021 European Defence Fund (EDF) funding, the project brings together a total of 37 industrial partners and research organisations from across 11 different European Union member nations.

The company informed that this project is also being supported by the European Union via €75m allotted within the framework of the 2021 EDF effort.

Based on its ability to manage complex cooperative programmes, Dassault Aviation has been chosen as the coordinator of the EICACS study project.

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The company has already received a grant contract from the European Commission last December.

The programme aims to strengthen the capabilities of the European air forces to achieve their missions in a better and more effective manner.

EICACS will further explore the possibility of upgrading the European forces’ capability to act in coalitions, involving crewed platforms, uncrewed systems, future air combat systems as well as the existing air assets.

Recently, a similar EU Commission’s defence research and development projects have been launched by Airbus.

The projects include European Defence Operational Collaborative Cloud and EU Next-Generation Rotorcraft Technologies.

Last month, European Defence Agency (EDA) announced two Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects for bolstering the future airlift capabilities of its European forces.

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