Although no formal decision has been taken, the ministry says that the most likely air force procurements to be struck from this year's budget are two Airbus A310-300s, two Canadair Challenger 601s and four Eurocopter AS332 Super Pumas for VIP transport.
The ministry says that this would save about DM400 million. In the longer term, however, defence officials feel that cancellation of these procurements would have their own additional costs.
The German air force already has two A310s, and needed the other two to replace its remaining Boeing 707-320s and to cut costs. The air force believes that the conversion from 707s to A310s could have saved some DM30 million in maintenance and operating costs.
All four A310s are due for conversion to multi-role tanker/transport configurations, fulfilling the air force's need for an air-to-air refuelling capability.
Source: Flight International
