Julian Moxon/MARIGNANE
Eurocopter president Jean-Francois Bigay claims that the Franco-German consortium is aiming to conclude orders for "around 100" AS.532 Cougar military-transport helicopters this year.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and a further unnamed country are among those which could, says Bigay, make 1996 a "notably better" year than last, when military sales at Eurocopter were at an all-time low.
Negotiations with Turkey, which is looking at buying a 30-helicopter batch to follow its initial 20 Cougars, are "almost finished", says Bigay, and centre on the conclusion of the offset deal, under which Turkey will manufacture subassemblies and carry out final assembly of the Cougar.
Talks with Saudi Arabia on a possible 40-aircraft order are "just beginning", while discussions are under way on a potential seven-aircraft order from Kuwait.
Eurocopter handed over the first of 17 Cougars ordered by the Royal Netherlands Air Force on 1 April. This was also the 400th aircraft to be delivered. Total sales of the type now stand at 467. The RNAF machines form part of the service's air-mobile brigade, which also includes Boeing Chinook transports and McDonnell Douglas Apaches ordered inn 1995. The brigade will be officially inaugurated in the middle of the year.
Bigay says that the French Government has promised that it will come up with its half of the Fr2.6 billion ($500 million) needed to tool up for production of the Tiger attack helicopter. "I have an assurance that the production investment contract will be signed in 1996," he says.
This would enable delivery of the first helicopter in 2001.
He adds that he still has "no confirmation" that the number of French Tigers has been reduced from 215 to 180, although sources indicate that this is now becoming the accepted figure.
The helicopters will, he says, be ordered in batches of between 20 and 30, probably in two-year contracts, until delivery of the last machine in 2015.
On the four-nation NH90 transport helicopter, Bigay says that he is now "convinced" that development will proceed normally up to the production investment decision, which he says "must be taken" in 1998. This would allow delivery of the first of 20 helicopters to the Royal Netherlands Navy to be made at the end of 2002.
The position on French procurement of the NH90 is less clear, he says, because the planned 2003/4 delivery of the first helicopter comes after the current five-year spending plan.
Source: Flight International
