Huge demand for the new Airbus A400 Transport aircraft
For the complete report from the WSJ.com click on this link
Airbus aims to get its troubled A400M military transporter airborne for the first time as soon as next week. The A400M is one of Europe's most ambitious defense projects. Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. agreed in May 2003 with seven countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to build 180 of the planes for €20 billion ($30 billion). Both sides hailed the deal as a model of Europe's integration and a sign of European savvy in the cutthroat aerospace industry. EADS promised to deliver the first A400M this year and swallow any budget overruns. The pan-European defense-procurement agency Occar, which is representing the seven governments in contract talks with EADS, has hired PriceWaterhouse Coopers to audit the program so defense officials can better understand the program's status and costs. Agreeing to a unified position has been difficult because some countries want the plane urgently, including France and Britain, while others such as Germany are more concerned about its cost. The remaining European customers are Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.If the plane flies next week as planned, four of them will begin a three-year program of flight testing to be certified by military and civil-aviation authorities.
Despite the program's troubles, it has a trump card: Militaries need airlift. The world's only other big military-transport planes are U.S. models, but Boeing's jet-powered C-17 is too big for most countries, while the updated C-130 from Lockeed Martin Corp. is too small. "There is huge demand for this aircraft," Mr. Gallois, EADS Chief Executive, said.
1 comment:
The Russian Military-Cargo planes are also available. The South African thought-process included three years of leasing Russian planes to give service while the EADS plane completes. That is why their number was so much higher than the EADS numbers.
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