While the bulk of the attention at Le Bourget will be centred on the likely rush of announcements linked to commercial aircraft sales – and particularly the successes that Airbus will enjoy on home turf – the same company’s defence arm will be attempting to recover after a torrid few months.
Just weeks into 2015, Airbus Group chief executive Tom Enders took the highly unusual step of publicly apologising to his UK military customer – during a company-run new year’s event in London – for delays to the A400M tactical transport programme.
All had seemed well only two months before, when the UK Ministry of Defence staged an event to welcome the Royal Air Force’s first “Atlas” at its Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire; even though that aircraft was grounded by a technical fault. There were, however, already strong indications that Airbus would miss a March 2015 target for the type to achieve initial operational capability status with the service – a milestone denoting the availability of seven of its eventual 22 aircraft.
As expected, Enders’ promise of “management and organisational consequences” linked to the A400M’s problems did not take long to take shape. On 29 January, it was announced that the head of the company’s Military Aircraft division, Domingo Ureña Raso, was to leave his post. Just over one month later Fernando Alonso stepped into the role, from that of Airbus’s head of flight test operations.
An A400M took part in the flying display at Paris 2013. The type was due to fly at the 2011 show, but was denied by last-minute gearbox problems
BillyPix
The problem, according to Airbus Defence & Space chief executive Bernhard Gerwert, was: “For the integration of military capabilities and the industrial ramp-up in particular, we have not been performing at the level which had been expected of us.” This knowledge had already contributed to the company taking a €551 million ($614 million) charge against the programme in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Faced with having to accelerate production of the A400M, while coping with an unacceptable level of “travelled work” – referring to incomplete components and structures arriving at its San Pablo final assembly line in Seville, Spain – and also being contractually required to insert capabilities beyond the strategic-range airlift tasks currently possible with the type, the decision was taken to reduce the planned delivery total for 2015 to 16 aircraft. Announced by Airbus in late February, this would double the total of eight achieved last year, but fall short of a previous plan to hand over more than 20 examples this year.
Already reeling from this combination of challenges, the programme was struck by disaster on 9 May. Just minutes into its first flight, aircraft MSN23 – the third of 10 A400Ms to be produced for the Turkish air force – crashed near Seville airport, seemingly as its crew attempted to return following a technical problem.
While images of the scene show that the aircraft came to rest largely intact in a field, a fire resulted in it being completely destroyed. Four of the six Airbus flight test personnel on board lost their lives, while the other two suffered serious injuries.
The first accident to have affected the A400M since lead development aircraft MSN1 made its flight debut in December 2009, the loss has had a major impact on operations. A dozen aircraft already delivered to the air forces of France (6), Germany (1), Malaysia (1), Turkey (2) and the UK (2) were withdrawn from operational use, or in the case of France saw their use restricted pending the initial findings of the crash investigation.
Spain’s defence ministry, which is leading this activity, also withdrew a certificate allowing Airbus to conduct pre-delivery flights with customer aircraft, effectively leaving the company with the ability to operate only its three-strong test fleet.
This was the point at which Airbus was planning to push the A400M towards securing fresh export orders, beyond the combined 174 aircraft already under contract for the existing five operators, plus Belgium and Luxembourg. Combined with the type’s increasing level of operating experience since lead user France took delivery of aircraft MSN7 shortly after the Paris air show in 2013, the imminent end to Boeing’s production of the C-17 strategic transport had appeared set to bolster interest in the Atlas.
On 19 May, Airbus notified users of the need to “perform one-time specific checks of the electronic control units on each of the aircraft’s [Europrop International TP400-D6] engines before next flight”, along with “additional detailed checks to be carried out in the event of any subsequent engine or ECU replacement”.
In an update sent to its customers on 2 June, Airbus said the crash was preceded by power-setting problems affecting three of the transport's engines. Preliminary analysis of its flight data and cockpit voice recorders by the Spanish military's CITAAM safety agency "have shown that all other aircraft systems performed normally", it adds.
Due to the ongoing investigation and restrictions placed on air force-operated A400Ms, the type’s participation at this year’s show will be restricted to an appearance by production-standard “Grizzly” test aircraft MSN6. In a bold move, the company on 10 June announced: “The A400M will take part in the flying display at the Paris air show, and will perform the same routine that it has been demonstrating at airshows since 2010.” Its decision, says Alonso, is a result of the company having "complete confidence" in its design.
The A400M tragedy has taken the gloss off several recent sales, selection and programme successes elsewhere within the military transport unit, which would otherwise have received more exposure at the show.
In March, Airbus delivered its first enhanced, winglet-equipped C295 to the Mexican navy
Airbus Defence & Space
Also assembled in Seville, the Airbus C295 medium transport continues to perform strongly. The company in late March delivered its first example in an enhanced, winglet-equipped version, with the aircraft having been transferred to the Mexican navy.
Supporting improved operating performance in “hot and high” conditions, or providing a 4% improvement in fuel efficiency, “winglets will be standard for all new C295s delivered from now on”, the company says, with the update also available as a retrofit option.
In May, India’s Defence Acquisition Council announced its intention to advance with what will be the largest single order to date for the twin-engined C295, with the nation’s air force to acquire 56 examples under an “Avro” replacement deal. The aircraft will replace the service’s obsolete inventory of HS 748 transports.
While still requiring final sign-off from New Delhi’s Cabinet Committee on Security, the deal should proceed under the guidelines of the “Make in India” procurement mechanism. This would see Airbus deliver 16 aircraft from its San Pablo final assembly line, with Tata Advanced Systems to be responsible for completing the remainder.
“This will include undertaking structural assembly, final aircraft assembly, systems integration and testing and management of the indigenous supply chain,” the Indian company said when its teaming agreement with Airbus was announced last October. Its chairman, S Ramadorai, described the partnership as “a landmark for the development of aircraft manufacturing capability in India”.
Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database records 126 C295s as being in current active use, with these flown by operators in 19 nations.
Other current campaigns involving the type include Canada, where the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G-engined model is being promoted to meet a requirement for new fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft. Competition will come from rivals including the Alenia Aermacchi C-27J and Lockheed Martin C-130J.
Business also continues to be strong for the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker/transport (MRTT). Currently operated by the air forces of Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the UK, the widebody is also on order for Singapore and has been selected by France, India and Qatar. A group of nations including Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Poland also intends to acquire a fleet of the aircraft under an initiative supported by the EU and European Defence Agency, while the type is being offered to meet a tanker requirement with South Korea.
The MRTT is now delivering air-to-air refuelling and passenger transport services for the RAF as the Voyager, while the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet has been in use supporting operations in the Middle East. Canberra has acquired five of the type, which is now close to delivering full capability, as its advanced refuelling boom system has entered clearance testing, initially involving having a second example – referred to locally as the KC-30A – acting as a receiver.
Airbus’s long run of sales success with the A330 MRTT will increasingly come under pressure from Boeing’s 767-based KC-46A, as that model moves through its development and flight test phase for the US Air Force.
But another potential military application for the European type emerged earlier this year, when it was identified as the preferred choice for the airborne warning and control system India (AWACS India) programme. On 25 March, the nation’s Defence Acquisition Council approved a planned allocation of over €750 million to acquire two of the surveillance aircraft.
Being led by the Bengaluru-based Centre for Airborne Systems – part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation – the AWACS India activity is eventually expected to deliver six aircraft, each equipped with a 10m (33ft)-diameter antenna rotodome and onboard operator stations.
Meanwhile, Airbus and its industrial partners BAE Systems and Finmeccanica are facing increasing pressure to secure fresh international sales of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Having tasted defeat in India at the hands of the Rafale – although an anticipated 126-aircraft programme has shrunk to potentially only an initial batch of 36 – the Eurofighter consortium has also recently seen Qatar order 24 of the French type, while Kuwait appears set to acquire F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from Boeing. Several Typhoon campaigns are ongoing with nations including Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Eurofighter consortium’s most recent export success was a December 2012 order agreed via the UK government to supply a dozen examples to Oman. Under current deals and at the present build rate, production would draw to a close late this decade unless further customers are secured.
Eurofighter will not be exhibiting at the show in its own right; rather through Airbus’s presence, but consortium officials continue to speak confidently of the market impact that future capability enhancements, including an active electronically scanned array radar and new and expanded weapons capabilities, will have in attracting further buyers.
As things stand, Eurofighter production will close later this decade unless more orders are secured
Airbus Defence & Space
A higher profile at this year’s show will be given to a proposed tri-national unmanned air vehicle project involving Airbus Defence & Space, Alenia Aermacchi and Dassault. Proposed by the partners two years ago, the joint development of a future medium-altitude, long-endurance type recently received the backing of the French, German and Italian governments.
Under a declaration of intent signed on 18 May, the companies will complete a two-year assessment phase activity, which is intended to inform subsequent development and production decisions. If the multinational proposal succeeds where other previous initiatives – such as those for the suggested Euromale and Talarion platforms – have foundered, the nations could field equipment from the early 2020s.
To showcase its current work in the UAV arena, Airbus will also be exhibiting the Harfang system now flown by the French military – a development of Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron 1 – in addition to its Tanan unmanned rotorcraft.
Check out the latest news, analysis and opinion from this year's Paris air show
Source: Flight International
