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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 1311.PDF
Millon: "Properly managed co-operation is a way of reducing costs" for a European future The hope is also that industrial re-organisa tion, including the merger of Aerospatiale and Dassault, and the privatisation of Thomson- CSF, will help improve programme efficiency. "Our defence industry is involved in a revolu tion," says French defence minister Charles Millon recently. He says that the target of 30% cuts by 2002 is "ambitious, but realistic". In a recent presentation to the Government on the achievements to date, Helmer says that reduc tions of around Frl5.3 billion ($2.6 billion) had been achieved in 51 programmes, worth a total of Fr2 74 billion. The changes are being rung virtually across die board of defence procurement. Combat air craft, in particular, have been a target, with orders for the Dassault Mirage 2000 for the air force reduced and a delay in ordering the Dassault Rafale multi-role fighter. The Loi de Programmation halved die rate of delivery of the remainingMirage 2000Ds to six a year between July 1996 and December 1998, with the total number cut from 90 to 86. This year sees die first delivery to die air force of 37 Mirage 2000-DAs converted to 2000-5s, while deliveries also began of the first of 60 such machines for Taiwan, providing a much-needed boost for Dassault and the long list of suppliers for the aircraft. RAFALE COSTS CUT Industrialisation of the Rafale has been frozen since December 1995, along with the planned construction of the first examples in 1996. The argument between the ministry of defence and Dassault over the cost of the aircraft has been resolved, however, with agreement that the price be reduced by 10%. The hope now is that the ini tial order for a batch of 48 aircraft (3 3 for the air force, 15 for the navy) will be placed before the end of this year. Another target is to clear production of an ini tial ten aircraft for the air force to enable forma tion of a "half squadron" from the end of 2002, which would give Dassault the credibility of a domestic order to help it pursue exports. According to Helmer, the industry, which in the past ten years has seen reductions in its work force of 100,000 employees, to around 200,000, achieved an overall improvement in perfor mance, although there were exceptions, such as debt-ridden Giat Industries. "In 1996 overall, there was a general improvement in sales of 4.5 % compared to 1995, with the results of the six main companies registering a strong increase", he says, adding that the number of people made unem ployed halved in the same period. The export effort is central to France's strate gy. As Millon says: "It is no longer possible for French companies to live on domestic orders alone, so they must achieve more through for eign sales. But they must subscribe to our policy on military co-operation, which aims at global stability. It is necessary that we enter a new phase whereby we pursue a strategy not just of market ing, but also of partnership". J A FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT |
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