Airbus Military, SA put A400M debacle behind them

For Airbus Military, the focus regarding South Africa is now in the light/medium aircraft category, for both transport and maritime patrol. This was confirmed on Tuesday evening, in Toulouse, France, by Airbus Military CEO Domingo Urena.

He also affirmed that his company and South Africa had agreed to draw a line under the country's cancellation of the A400M military airlift aircraft and look forward, not backward. The two sides had different views on the cancellation. "I still believe South Africa needs the A400M," he said. "If the South African government gives us the opportunity to compete, we will. But the past is past."

South Africa is looking for new light/medium transport aircraft and wants to use the same airframe for the maritime patrol aircraft. This latter mission has become increasingly important owing to the spread of Somali-based piracy into south-east African waters.

Urena stated that he believed that South Africa needed the Airbus Military C295, originally developed as a transport aircraft and now also available in unarmed and armed maritime patrol versions.

The C295 is the largest Airbus Military aircraft in the light/medium category, the others being the CN235 (from which the C295 was developed) and the C212, which is the smallest of the three. The South African Air Force operates the C212 and until recently also operated a single CN235.

"In the medium and light category, we're going to continue to deliver, on time and on cost," he said.

He also assured that there would be further development of mission systems, for environmental protection and maritime law enforcement as well as military roles. "In mission systems, we are the leaders today."

He asserted that the CN235 and C295 "are delivering" and that they display the company's ability "to tailor the aircraft for each customer .... We continue to evolve these products".

He cited the airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) version of the C295, now under development (the aerodynamic prototype first flew last year). Airbus Military hopes this aircraft will make AEW&C capability available to countries which need it but, until now, could not afford it.

Then there is the A400M. "We are going to continue to say, around year end, [or] the start of 2013, we're going to deliver the first [production] A400M," he averred. "So, we're on track."

Long-lead items for aircraft number 19 have now been ordered.

"There are still a lot of challenges before the first delivery. We need these aircraft to perform by a certain date. We're working with the French Air Force and OCCAR [the European defence acquisition agency] to make this happen." The French Air Force will be the first customer to receive the A400M.

Nevertheless, "this year we decided to start marketing the A400M."

The plane has already been taken to the Feria Internacional del Aire y del Espacio air show in Chile (as well as doing high altitude tests in Bolivia and Peru) and to Indonesia and Thailand (in addition to Malaysia, which has already ordered the A400M). "We hope to be in India this year. And some other countries."

Airbus Military's other product is the A330 multirole tanker/transport aircraft, which has entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Air Force.