Julian Moxon/Rome

The president of Alenia's aerospace division, Georgio Zappa, has criticised France, Germany and the UK for their continued failure to define the future shape of the European aerospace industry.

Zappa also attacks Aerospatiale, British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) for not including Alenia Aerospazio in the talks leading up to the transformation of Airbus into a commercial Single Corporate Entity (SCE). "I believe they have made a big mistake-Icannot understand why we have not been invited to join the SCE," he says.

He stresses that Alenia is not "anxious" to enter Airbus, and hints that if the current situation is not resolved it will continue its hitherto successful policy of establishing bilateral alliances "as the market dictates". This includes the forthcoming deal with GEC-Marconi and Alenia in radars, missiles and battlefield command systems, and has planned a satellites alliance with either the French-only Thomson-CSF grouping or with the Matra Marconi Space/Dasateam.

Alenia will only join the Airbus system on the basis that it is promised a significant share in new programmes, says Zappa. "Isigned a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for Italy to join the SCE as an investor in new programmes and later to give Alenia's assets to the new company," he says, pointing out that this "step-by-step" approach has fallen down for lack of any firm new programmes, including the military Future Large Aircraft (FLA).

"We were to have a 20% stake in the FLA, but that is still not happening, and we were a 39% shareholder in the European element of the 100-seater Airbus, which is also not going anywhere. The A3XXis delayed a year, so there is nothing there," he says.

"For us it is critical to understand what will be the right approach to get into the Airbus system. Alenia and Finmeccanica are waiting for the answer-but we haven't got forever," he says, suggesting that this will be on the basis of "our industrial capabilities" not as a "banker".

Zappa says that Alenia, which is itelf gearing up for privatisation "within a year", is on track to reveal "extremely good" financial results in its commercial and civil divisions next June.

Source: Flight International