French Defence minister Florence Parly recently explained that it will start to cut its dependence on US components in many of its weapons systems. Everyone knows that US export controls often limit European weapons sales even if they only contain a tiny US component. Just this year, the US blocked the sale of French-made SCALP cruise missiles to Egypt because they contained a US part that was subject to the US export regulations. Regarding the blocked sale, Parly said: “We are at the mercy of the Americans.” Without providing specific examples, Parly said France needed to “gradually wean ourselves off our reliance on a certain number of American parts.”
France and Germany are currently working on the Future Combat Air System (SCAF) project, a next generation combat jet and they are trying to minimize the dependence on US parts within the project. France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus have signed a deal to work together on the jet which will have the ability to be at the center of a broader weapons system that can control a squadron of drones. Currently, France’s air force uses Reaper drones which are built by General Atomics, a US firm. France had to obtain US congressional approval to arm the drones since they are used in its counter-terrorism operations against Islamist militants. “Is that satisfactory? No. But we don’t have any choice,” Parly explained.
Quotes from French Defence minister Florence Parly during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland on August 23, 2018.
More details: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-defence/france-says-it-must-use-fewer-us-parts-in-its-weapons-systems-idUSKCN1LM2CK