France-Germany jet plans crash: Can Europe end reliance on US for security?

France and Germany have announced this week that they are ditching a landmark project to jointly develop a sixth-generation fighter jet. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Monday that the project is being terminated, in what is being seen as a major blow to efforts to boost defence cooperation between European Union states, a key issue amid uncertainty cast by United States President Donald Trump over the readiness of the US to help defend its NATO allies. …