Andrew Doyle/MUNICH
Airbus Industrie is prepared to provide up to 30% of the development funding for the proposed A400M military airlifter if the money is required to get the programme launched, according to industry sources.
The consortium believes its investment in the $6 billion development programme could be recovered through export sales, conservatively estimated at 200 aircraft over the next 20 years. This is in addition to the A400Ms that would be procured by the seven core nations evaluating the aircraft under a joint European staff requirement, whose combined 288-aircraft need is almost certain to shrink significantly.
"The partners are prepared to make an investment based on the market potential of the aircraft," says Airbus Military Company (AMC) commercial director Richard Thompson.
AMC aims at a unit price of $80 million for the A400M and to launch the programme with orders from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK. The target of 288 aircraft, however, is looking increasingly unrealistic following Italy's recent decision to buy 12 Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems C-27Js, plus another six Lockheed Martin C-130Js.
Germany, facing defence budget constraints, is calling for the establishment of a joint European airlift command to drive down the number of aircraft it would need. The UK could opt to buy more C-130Js and acquire Boeing C-17s.
The A400M proposal could get off the ground with cash from Airbus Industrie
Source: Flight International
