EADS has joined German flag carrier Lufthansa to bid for the forthcoming NATO contract to provide a strategic heavylift capability.
The deal is likely to intensify the competition to be held after NATO releases its tenders for the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution in the third quarter of this year. Antonov Airlines - a partnership between Ukraine's Antonov design bureau and the UK's Air Foyle HeavyLift - and Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines have already made clear their intention to bid (Flight International, 29 June-5 July).
EADS's bid is unusual in that it combines the Antonov An-124 with its own civil Beluga, the outsized A300-600 derivative used to transport Airbus components around Europe. "We plan also to offer this combined capability to EADS for internal use and to other potential third-party customers," says EADS. The company claims it has a "strong" business plan based around the creation of a new company to operate the two types.
This would be set up with Lufthansa's cargo division, which would manage the combined capacity of the Beluga and An-124 fleets.
Source: Flight International
