France and Germany may merge their shipbuilding infrastructure in the biggest example of industrial cooperation between the two since they established eads, the aerospace group that owns Airbus, according to an article in the Financial Times Deutschland published August 1. German defense firm and steelmaker ThyssenKrupp, French shipbuilder dcns and the German and French governments plan to discuss a shipbuilding alliance later this year, the paper reported.

One proposal for the “eads of the seas” would put dcns in charge of frigate building, and ThyssenKrupp over submarines.

France has pushed for some kind of alliance in this area before, but it has always been rejected by Germany, which is nervous about how much control France will have over the group.

A recent deal between French and German companies to manufacture torpedoes could be used as a test run for a far-reaching cooperation deal.

The possibility of a deal comes after a potential partnership between ThyssenKrupp and Abu Dhabi mar fell apart. The partnership, mentioned a few times by the Trumpet, would have seen the two companies sell military surface vessels to nations in the Middle East and North Africa. ThyssenKrupp cited changes to the political landscape as the reason for canceling the deal.

Germany is still keen on developing a military partnership with Middle Eastern nations, however, as its recent decision to sell battle tanks to Saudi Arabia shows. In the meantime, this kind of a deal between Germany and France would be another step toward European military integration.