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European nations divided on A400M programme
Keep alive, reduce or cancel the programme
04:22 GMT, April 6, 2009
Ongoing delays in the €20 billion A400M aircraft programme has provoked the drifting apart of its partner-nations, all of whom will soon have to decide either to keep the programme entirely alive, reduce its orders or cancel the entire programme. OCCAr (the European organisation for joint armament cooperation, Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’ARmement) which managed the A400M programme, has proposed a three-month moratorium period to attempt to resolve the crisis which surfaced earlier this month.
While the first flight remains delayed by more than 14 months, participating nations have a legal right to abandon the programme as a group or individually and demand their funding contributions be returned. Since the first flight was scheduled for January 2008, this deadline expires in April 2009, which means that any decision about the future of the programme has to be taken this month.
Airbus military, an EADS company, recently played down the threat of the partner-nations using a termination clause and urged the contracting nations of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK to make use of the three-month standstill agreement.
SPAIN and TURKEY
Further, Spain and Turkey declared, on Saturday, that they remain committed to the Airbus A400M, despite a 3-4 years delivery delay. Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon told reporters that Spain and Turkey will not cut the number of ordered aircraft and asked other customer-nations to keep the programme alive.
GERMANY
At the same time, German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung confirmed on Tuesday that seven European nations were considering the cancellation of the entire programme as a "realistic possibility".
FRANCE
France, however, voiced its willingness to remain committed to the joint European transport aircraft A400M, but needs to find interim solutions for the operational gap caused by the programme delays. Flightglobal reported on Saturday that France may have officially asked Boeing to submit pricing and availability data on three Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft.
The C-17 would be needed to bridge a capability gap caused by development delays of the Airbus Military A400M. The magazine quoted an unnamed industry source who said the French Defence Ministry officials wrote to the U.S. Air Force on 25 March enquiring about a possible acquisition in the future of three C-17 aircraft. However, it has not been reported if these aircraft will be purchased or just leased for the period needed while waiting for the A400M.
To purchase or lease C-17s would bridge the gap. Other solutions are also in discussion, such as C-130s.
However it is considered possible that France will reduce the number of orders for the Airbus A400M, now at 50, Laurent Collet-Billon, the head of France's arms procurement agency, or Direction generale de l'armement, said Tuesday.
UNITD KINGDOM
The UK, which has ordered 25 A400M aircraft, has threatened to axe the programme and expressed interest in boosting the size of its six-strong C-17 fleet and/or leasing or buying additional Lockheed C-130Js. The nation will need a quick solution to fulfill the urgent need for new transport aircraft to support its combat operations in Afghanistan, since the airframe life of their 21 remaining C-130K Hercules is coming to an end.
A final decision of the nations is expected by July this year. A cancellation of the programme would entail very severe consequences for all involved. EADS and the entire European aerospace and defence industry would face large financial losses and would also lose its credibility as a major industrial programme partner. The participating nations would lose the European-built aircraft they sought to create and would only find US alternatives, leaving the military transport aircraft sector to the US. Further, the abandoning of the programme will be accompanied by loss of jobs and know-how and European sovereignty, the report stated.
A total of 192 A400Ms have been ordered by nine countries. The other partners in the programme are Spain, which has 27 A400Ms on order, the UK (25), Turkey (10), Belgium (7), Malaysia (4) and Luxembourg (1).
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/284/
Keep alive, reduce or cancel the programme
04:22 GMT, April 6, 2009
Ongoing delays in the €20 billion A400M aircraft programme has provoked the drifting apart of its partner-nations, all of whom will soon have to decide either to keep the programme entirely alive, reduce its orders or cancel the entire programme. OCCAr (the European organisation for joint armament cooperation, Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’ARmement) which managed the A400M programme, has proposed a three-month moratorium period to attempt to resolve the crisis which surfaced earlier this month.
While the first flight remains delayed by more than 14 months, participating nations have a legal right to abandon the programme as a group or individually and demand their funding contributions be returned. Since the first flight was scheduled for January 2008, this deadline expires in April 2009, which means that any decision about the future of the programme has to be taken this month.
Airbus military, an EADS company, recently played down the threat of the partner-nations using a termination clause and urged the contracting nations of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK to make use of the three-month standstill agreement.
SPAIN and TURKEY
Further, Spain and Turkey declared, on Saturday, that they remain committed to the Airbus A400M, despite a 3-4 years delivery delay. Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon told reporters that Spain and Turkey will not cut the number of ordered aircraft and asked other customer-nations to keep the programme alive.
GERMANY
At the same time, German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung confirmed on Tuesday that seven European nations were considering the cancellation of the entire programme as a "realistic possibility".
FRANCE
France, however, voiced its willingness to remain committed to the joint European transport aircraft A400M, but needs to find interim solutions for the operational gap caused by the programme delays. Flightglobal reported on Saturday that France may have officially asked Boeing to submit pricing and availability data on three Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft.
The C-17 would be needed to bridge a capability gap caused by development delays of the Airbus Military A400M. The magazine quoted an unnamed industry source who said the French Defence Ministry officials wrote to the U.S. Air Force on 25 March enquiring about a possible acquisition in the future of three C-17 aircraft. However, it has not been reported if these aircraft will be purchased or just leased for the period needed while waiting for the A400M.
To purchase or lease C-17s would bridge the gap. Other solutions are also in discussion, such as C-130s.
However it is considered possible that France will reduce the number of orders for the Airbus A400M, now at 50, Laurent Collet-Billon, the head of France's arms procurement agency, or Direction generale de l'armement, said Tuesday.
UNITD KINGDOM
The UK, which has ordered 25 A400M aircraft, has threatened to axe the programme and expressed interest in boosting the size of its six-strong C-17 fleet and/or leasing or buying additional Lockheed C-130Js. The nation will need a quick solution to fulfill the urgent need for new transport aircraft to support its combat operations in Afghanistan, since the airframe life of their 21 remaining C-130K Hercules is coming to an end.
A final decision of the nations is expected by July this year. A cancellation of the programme would entail very severe consequences for all involved. EADS and the entire European aerospace and defence industry would face large financial losses and would also lose its credibility as a major industrial programme partner. The participating nations would lose the European-built aircraft they sought to create and would only find US alternatives, leaving the military transport aircraft sector to the US. Further, the abandoning of the programme will be accompanied by loss of jobs and know-how and European sovereignty, the report stated.
A total of 192 A400Ms have been ordered by nine countries. The other partners in the programme are Spain, which has 27 A400Ms on order, the UK (25), Turkey (10), Belgium (7), Malaysia (4) and Luxembourg (1).
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/284/