Andrew Chuter/LONDON
BRITISH AEROSPACE Defence is deepening its involvement with Eurocopter on military helicopters, announcing a tie-up to bid for a UK tri-service training contract using Eurocopter products, and confirming its intention to collaborate on an NH90 support-helicopter bid to meet UK requirements.
BAe believes that, by 2005, the UK will be putting into service the first of up to 150 NH90-type aircraft as a future light battlefield helicopter and as an Eurocopter Puma replacement for the Royal Air Force.
The UK is also seeking industry proposals for a pilot-training system to meet a requirement for the newly merged tri-service helicopter school. Previously, the training has been done by the individual services. The BAe link with McAlpine, Eurocopter's UK distributor, will see the companies offer AS350 Ecureils and AS365 Dauphins in a competition expected to get under way in August.
The tie-ups are part of BAe's strategy to widen the scope of its system-integration capabilities into helicopters - a move which began with the company leading the Eurocopter bid to secure the British Army attack-helicopter contract for Eurocopter's Tiger in competition primarily with the Westland Helicopters/McDonnell Douglas AH-64D Apache bid.
The UK decision on the attack helicopter is vital to BAe fulfilling its aims with Eurocopter. John Weston, chairman of BAe Defence, admits that, while he is anxious to build a relationship with the Aerospatiale/Daimler-Benz Aerospace joint venture, "...were we not able to deliver the Tiger deal, our usefulness to Eurocopter diminishes accordingly".
The attack-helicopter decision is also critical to BAe and Eurocopter for wider strategic reasons. Barely concealed behind the fight to land the £2.7 billion ($1.68 billion) contract, is the question of, the restructuring of the European helicopter industry. A win for Westland, and the UK helicopter builder can negotiate its entry from a position of strength - should that be the way it opts to go. A win for Tiger leaves a weakened Westland propelled towards Europe on Eurocopter's terms.
Eurocopter chief executive Jean-Francois Bigay has raised the possibility of BAe taking a stake in Eurocopter, saying in a French newspaper interview that such a move "...will depend on opportunities arising. Personally, I tend to be in favour of an alliance that went as far as possible".
He envisions a division of roles in the UK, with Westland as the prime airframe contractor, and BAe providing the systems engineering.
Source: Flight International
