A group of 71 French lawmakers from the La France Insoumise party introduced an amendment to the 2027 budget proposal on 16 October. The initiative seeks to establish a dedicated budget line for the VORTEX spaceplane project by reallocating €1 from existing defense funds. This move aims to force the government to clarify its financial strategy for the program.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation in June 2025 to develop the VORTEX-D demonstrator. President Emmanuel Macron publicly expressed support for the broader VORTEX program on 10 September 2026. Despite these commitments, lawmakers argue that the 2027 budget lacks clear funding details for the project.
The amendment also serves to address concerns regarding potential German participation. In May 2026, Dassault Aviation and the German company OHB announced a partnership to propose the VORTEX-S spaceplane to the European Space Agency. Under this plan, Dassault would lead spacecraft development, while OHB would manage the service module.
Lawmakers are concerned that the project could face challenges similar to the Franco-German Future Combat Air System program, which collapsed in June 2026. By creating this symbolic budget line, the MPs aim to formally establish the development of a reusable spaceplane capability as a state budget objective.
