France plans 2027 prototype phase and 2029 development start for new fighter

France plans to open a second demonstration phase for its New Generation Fighter in 2027, with full-scale development beginning in 2029, according to documents published with the country's draft 2027 defence budget.

The schedule appears in the annual performance plan for the defence mission, under Program 146, which covers equipment of the forces.

The first demonstration phase dates from December 2022, when the Next Generation Weapon System contract was awarded under the joint programme with Germany and Spain. The second phase is to include a flight of an NGF prototype.

That timing matches comments Dassault Aviation chief executive Éric Trappier made to the French Senate on 1 July 2026, when he said the demonstrator could fly for the first time in 2031 or 2032.

Funding for the wider Future Combat Air System, known in French as SCAF, rises sharply in the draft. The Ministry of the Armed Forces plans to commit €2.74 billion in 2027, against €1.2 billion in 2026, covering contracts for work paid out over multiple years. Actual payment appropriations grow by a smaller margin, 23%, from €454.5 million to €557.8 million.

Money is also set aside under Program 144 for research into stealth and collaborative combat technologies, which the budget lists among priorities for future air warfare.

Separately, the source says France is proceeding with national fighter work after the joint Franco-German NGF project collapsed in June 2026. It also references remarks made before the French National Assembly's defence committee on 8 October 2026, but the extract does not contain their content.