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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 2356.PDF
HEADLINES DEFENCE PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC & STEWART PENNEY / LONDON EADS and L-3 ally for MPA tender German/Italian competition to replace ageing Dassault Atlantics also attracts Boeing and Lockheed Martin EADS and L-3 Communications have signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) to support each others' bids for the joint German/Italian competition to supply up to 24 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to replace ageing Dassault Atlantic Is. The bidders are: Boeing with a 737-based solution; Lockheed Mar tin offering P-3Cs; L-3 with reman- ufactured P-3A/Bs; and EADS/ Alenia offering Airbus A320s. Industry sources say EADS was not sure whether Alenia would par ticipate in a joint bid until the day before the proposals were due to be submitted in late July, despite the German/Italian project office demanding a combined submis sion from the two companies. Under the MoUs - signed by L-3 with EADS Military Aircraft and EADS Defensive Systems - the US company will support the A320MPA bid. Italy's Galileo Avionica, Alenia's sister company, has also signed an MoU with L-3. EADS and Galileo are to support the US company's P-3- based Procyon programme. L-3's support for the A320-based bid is primarily to offer its Integrat ed Data Handling System as the heart of the mission system. If Procyon is selected, EADS and Galileo would support L-3, while the remanufacture and upgrading of the ex-US Navy P-3s would also be gradually transferred to Europe. The Procyon proposal includes new Rolls-Royce AE2100 turboprops and a glass cockpit. The EADS/Alenia combination is offering the A320, but the A321 was considered. EADS Military Aircraft senior vice-president programmes Erwin Obermeier says a green A320 airframe should be cheaper than the larger A321 and the "A320 fits the requirement nicely". The proposed A320MPA would have an internal weapons bay in the forward part of a modified wing-fuselage fairing. EADS is con tinuing to consider whether exter nal stores are needed as well. An electro-optical sensor would be mounted in the nose and a maritime radar under the forward end of the weapons bay. It is to be decided whether the radar will be An A320MPA would have a weapons bay in the wing-fuselage fairing retractable or fixed, and whether it will remain in the same location as in the concept, says Obermeier. Internally, the concept has a crew rest area in the forward cabin, with seven mission consoles on the starboard side facing outwards and the systems racks on the port side in the central area. At the rear of the cabin are observer positions and sonobuoy launch systems. EADS and L-3 are also courting Alenia, but European sources say the Italian company is talking to Boeing to support its 737-based bid. EADS Casa also supplied data on the C295 equipped with its Fully Integrated Tactical System as an interim solution, "but it was not an official proposal", says a company source. Alenia is also understood to have offered an ATR 42MP-based interim solution. A downselection is expected by January and a contract by next July, but this is subject to German budget approval and is already in danger of sliding six months. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin and L-3 are competing to upgrade eight ex-USN P-3As for South Korea. AIR TRANSPORT PAUL PHELAN / CAIRNS Rebranded Alliance Airlines plans extension amid suggestions of commercial link with SI A Queensland Airline Holdings (QAH), which acquired the assets of the collapsed Flight West Airlines, is rebranding the former Australian regional carrier as Alliance Airlines and is planning its expansion in a move which is being linked with Singapore Airlines (SLA). The Asian carrier has had ambi tions to gain an Australian domes tic foothold by establishing a third national carrier since the collapse of its former Star Alliance partner Ansett last year. Industry sources believe the quick recovery of the former Flight West, which was shut down by its previous owners in June last year, could only be achieved by major investment and the support of an international carrier. SIA is declining to comment on any potential link with Alliance Airlines, saying: "We have made no secret of our interest in the Australian market. We have around 70 services a week to the five largest cities, so you would expect us to have a keen interest in develop ments in the aviation sector." The airline says it has not ruled out involvement in a domestic airline. Alliance already has links with SIA through QAH director Steve Padgett, who is also chairman and managing director of Queensland- based Aeromil Group. Aeromil signed a deal last April to provide purpose-built training facilities and an operational base for Singapore Flying College-owned Advanced Jet-Training Facility's fleet of four Learjet 45s and the college's Learjet simulator, in a A$2 million ($1 mil lion) deal. In addition to Padgett, QAH is owned by Stephen Bond, who owns Lloyd Helicopters, and Hugh Jones, chief executive of New Zealand-based Airwork. The Australian airline operates scheduled flights on two key Queensland routes and will launch new domestic services from Brisbane and Sydney this month. The airline is planning to add more Fokker 100s to its fleet of two of the type and two Embraer EMB- 120 Brasilias. It is also adding to its 140 staff and has set up a call centre capable of accommodating rapid growth. Sources say Alliance would give SIA a ready-made base for expan sion to Australian tourism routes. • Australiawide Airlines last week simultaneously completed the acquisition of former Ansett regional carriers Hazelton Airlines and Kendell Airlines from their sep arate administrators for a reported A$40 million (US$21 million). A combined fleet of 21 Saab 340 and seven Fairchild Dornier Metro 23 turboprops will fly under a new name and livery from September. 4 6-12 AUGUST 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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