Taiwan has signed an agreement with Latecoere of France to team with Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) to bid for Airbus A340-500/600 work. It also expects to start subcontracting to Boeing shortly, as part of a move to reduce the company's reliance on military work.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed in Toulouse by Taiwan's economic affairs ministry, AIDC will work with the French airframe contractor to secure Airbus work. The two companies are understood to want to build the fuselage plugs for the newly launched stretched A340-500 and -600, and in the longer-term possibly become involved with the A3XX.
"We've signed a simple agreement with Latecoere on future co-operation-we've already done a lot of airframe structural work and we think we can join together to produce fuselage and empennage sections," says Jack Tang, director of the ministry's Committee for Aviation and Space Development.
AIDC had been talking with Latecoere about tendering for work on the now cancelled Aero International (Regional) Airjet 70 regional aircraft. "Latecoere is the right partner-we can still work with them," says Tang.
The Taiwanese state-run manufacturer says that it is also planning to tender for Boeing parts manufacture and subassembly work. Boeing is midway through certifying AIDC's Taichung plant to the D19000 standard to become a recognised direct supplier.
AIDC has a series of military and civil contracts as it looks for more commercial work to substitute for the Ching Kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter, production of which ends in 1999.
Source: Flight International
