"Airbus no longer wants to work with Dassault," Eric Trappier, the chief executive of the French aerospace group, told reporters.

"If Airbus continues to make it likely that it won't work with Dassault, the project is dead," he added.

"We are honouring our commitments to the letter," Trappier added. "It is Airbus that is not respecting the initial agreement."

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme was launched in 2017 to replace France's Rafale jet and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain.

But the scheme, jointly developed by the three countries, has stalled as disagreements persist between Dassault and Airbus.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signalled in February that Berlin could abandon the project, saying Germany does not need the same type of fighter jets as France.

Airbus said it would support a proposal to instead build two separate jets if the countries participating in the project requested it.

Trappier however poured cold water on that idea on Wednesday.

"France cannot support the idea of having two aircraft," he said.

The warplane project is often seen as a bellwether of defence and security cooperation between EU powerhouses France and Germany.

President Emmanuel Macron has sought to play down tensions, calling them "business life".

"Should that determine the strategy of states? The answer is no," he has said.

Earlier this week, Paris and Berlin said they had set up a "nuclear steering group" as Macron said France could deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries to bolster security.

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Dassault Aviation

Airbus Group