Douglas Barrie/LONDON and Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH
THE FUTURE Large Aircraft (FLA) partner nations are aiming to begin the pre-development phase of the military-transport aircraft project in 1996, with development of a production-standard model to start in 1999.
Advancing the FLA project has been discussed by senior French, German and UK politicians at meetings in Paris and Bonn in early February.
According to UK and German sources, the FLA partners wish to see the UK fully recommitted to the programme as soon as possible. The project has come under increasing budgetary pressure in France, and a UK decision to rejoin would alleviate this to some extent.
The UK's return, say officials, would be followed by the negotiation of an umbrella memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering the project, along with finalising the European Staff Requirement. An MoU covering the pre-development phase would also need to be negotiated.
Roger Freeman, the UK defence-procurement minister, is believed to have told the Germans and the French during the meetings that the UK has a "...serious intent to buy between 40 and 50 aircraft".
These would cover the replacement of the Royal Air Force's remaining Lockheed C-130H Hercules, along with the British Aerospace VC10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar tanker-transports.
One outstanding area requiring resolution, if the UK rejoins the FLA programme, is the issue of who would develop the wing.
According to German sources, Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) is arguing that it should develop a high-technology composite wing for the FLA. BAe, which lobbied vociferously on behalf of the FLA in the UK, wants to maintain the European wing-design dominance it has gained through Airbus.
BAe, along with other FLA partners, is also arguing that a composite wing is not necessary, on requirement and cost grounds.
The FLA project will be managed under the auspices of Airbus Industrie. The partner nations wish to avoid setting up a cumbersome, and costly, inter-governmental management agency. They want the programme to be run along commercial lines.
Source: Flight International
