The companies, including Airbus’s Germany-based defense and space unit, and Germany’s Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, MBDA and MTU Aero Engines, have formed Team Gen 6, a consortium aimed at preserving European expertise in next-generation air combat. The move follows Germany and France’s decision to abandon their joint fighter-jet project after long-running disputes between Airbus and France’s Dassault Aviation over leadership and technology sharing. Other elements of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System, including ‘combat cloud’ and ‘system-of-systems' technologies, may continue under a partnership between the two countries.