Douglas Barrie and Kevin O'Toole/LONDON

BRITISH AEROSPACE and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) are to compete in a wing design "fly-off" for the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport. The result will have a critical impact on the UK's final decision on whether to rejoin the programme.

The rival wing designs will be windtunnel-tested by the FLA consortium later this year, before a winner is decided, according to Chris Geoghegan, managing director at BAe Airbus.

BAe and DASA are laying claim to design and production of the wing for the FLA. DASA is lobbying the German Government fiercely, in an attempt to gain its support.

It is becoming clear, however, that, should BAe not win the wing work, then the UK's fragile position in the programme could well collapse.

Roger Freeman, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, speaking exclusively to Flight International, makes it clear that BAe capturing the wing work for the FLA programme is "a UK working assumption". On the basis of such assumptions, the UK is working towards formally rejoining the project this year.

"BAe has invested heavily in wing manufacture: this represents a serious economic investment. If FLA proceeds, BAe's wing-manufacturing capacity will be used for FLA," says Freeman.

The minister considers the latter point to be self-evident, saying: "It is a simple matter of economics. It is a working assumption that the BAe proposal will be treated on its merits as a supplier of wing technology. It is difficult to see how this could be disturbed."

Geoghegan says: "We know the only work we want out of the programme, and that is the wing and the wing box."

BAe has so far emerged as the clear winner on similar fly-offs on previous Airbus projects. Geoghegan admits, however, that this time the issue could be muddied by DASA pushing a composite- wing design. BAe favours an aluminium wing.

Germany industry, in attempting to bolster its own campaign for the wing work, with the long-term aim of undermining BAe's position as the Airbus wing supplier, has been implying that the UK lacks commitment to the FLA. Freeman refutes this, saying: "We are serious, we are real players in the game."

BAe chief executive Dick Evans believes that the initial politicking for workshare on the FLA is likely to be supplanted by economics. "When the chips are down, cost is going to become increasingly important," he says, pointing out that BAe's wing production is now one of the most cost-efficient in the world.

Source: Flight International