PARIS — Tensions between Paris and Berlin over the fate of a next-generation fighter jet are rising, with Dassault CEO Éric Trappier insisting on Tuesday that his company can manufacture a futuristic warplane alone.

POLITICO has reported that Germany is looking for other partners if talks with France fail on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), to which Trappier said: “If they want to do it on their own, let them do it on their own,” according to Agence France-Presse.

“Could we make a sixth-generation aircraft on our own? The answer is yes. We could design it, build it, fly it and produce it,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of a Dassault factory opening in the suburbs of Paris.

FCAS was launched in 2017 by France and Germany, with Spain joining the program later. It is designed to replace the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon by 2040.

POLITICO reported last week that Germany is now looking at Sweden and the U.K. to replace France in case Paris and Berlin can’t reach an agreement by the end of the year.

Dassault Aviation and Airbus — the company representing Germany in the project — have been fighting over how much work each company gets to do. The French Rafale-maker wants more decision-making power to develop the new aircraft, arguing that the current management structure is likely to cause delays. 

Over the weekend the French armed forces ministry tried to strike a reassuring tone, insisting it remains fully committed to finding common ground with Germany on FCAS.

But Thomas Pretzl, head of the workers’ council at Airbus Defence and Space, said Germany has the capability to develop the new fighter on its own or with partners other than France.

“I believe that FCAS should go ahead without Dassault. There are more attractive and suitable partners in Europe,” he told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.

Chris Lunday contributed reporting from Berlin.