While much attention is drawn to the next generation of fighters, as represented by the Franco/German/Spanish New Generation Fighter (part of Future Combat Air System/FCAS) and the Anglo/Italian/Japanese Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the three main European fighter types in production have all made significant gains in recent times with new orders from both domestic and international customers. The trend could prove more significant in the context of recent political momentum in the direction of greater European self-reliance in defense capability.
Colloquially referred to as the “Euro-canards” owing to a shared canard foreplane configuration, France's Dassault Rafale, the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon, and Sweden's Saab Gripen were all developed in the 1980s and 1990s to meet domestic requirements. Both the Typhoon and Gripen achieved some initial success in exports, but it was to be some years before all three types began racking up further sales.
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