AgustaWestland is in Paris with a strong product range, optimistic outlook, and a desire to re-contest a high-profile deal recently cancelled in the USA, says managing director Graham Cole.

Controversy continues to surround the US Department of Defense's axing of the US Navy's VH-71 presidential helicopter programme last month, when a Lockheed Martin-led contract for 26 modified AW101s fell foul of action by defence secretary Robert Gates.

AgustaWestland delivered its last of an initial nine VH-71s - four test vehicles and five pilot production examples - to Lockheed in late April from its Yeovil plant in south-west England, completing its part of the programme's contracted Increment 1 activities.

A "stop work" order had already been imposed before this milestone, while the DoD performed its review of the deal. Within weeks, the companies had been formally notified of its decision to cancel the programme.

"At a congressional level I think there is concern that the decision was taken too quickly," says Cole. "We were concerned at the reasoning that was given, because some of the operational characteristics cited we just didn't recognise. There are quite a number of voices on the Hill asking why did that happen?"

NEW SPECIFICATIONS

Despite the disappointment, all may not be lost for Lockheed and its European partner. "We understand it is their intention in the near term - I think literally a matter of weeks - to reissue the specification for a re-run of the competition," says Cole. "They've told us that's going to happen."

AgustaWestland is waiting to see what the USN's new specifications will outline, but he says: "There is a solution that can be done inside the budget. We believe broadly that an Increment 1 aircraft will do the job. Increment 2 was going to be a development of the aircraft over the next four or five years, but the Increment 1 helicopter is so much better than what they've got now - or indeed anything else that is available in the foreseeable future - that we believe that's the way they should go."

Several of the technologies intended for use with the VH-71 fleet, including BERP IV main rotor blades, new tail rotor, enhanced cockpit and uprated General Electric CT7 engines, are on show this week on an AW101 demonstrator, representing the latest production standard for the three-engine type.

Although it will have to fight to regain work lost through the US presidential fleet decision, Cole says Agusta­Westland is seeing the military rotorcraft sector "holding up pretty well". The UK Ministry of Defence's ongoing budget crisis put its long-term partnering agreement with the Finmeccanica company under severe strain last year, when its British Army/Royal Navy Future Lynx programme came perilously close to cancellation. Now secure, the renamed Lynx Wildcat/AW159 will fly for the first time in November, and enter frontline service in January 2014.

"That piece of work was crucial to our business - it was the birth child of partnering," says Cole. "If you ever wanted to test a relationship it was 2008 and Future Lynx."

AgustaWestland is now awaiting clarity from the UK MoD on its future battlefield helicopter strategy, with planned life-extension programmes for the Westland Sea King with the company and for the Royal Air Force's Pumas with Eurocopter facing review.

Cole says the company has offered to participate in the process, ordered by minister for defence equipment and support Quentin Davies, but notes: "He has to decide shortly on whether he feels an alternative to the life-extension programmes has substance or not." One option could be to replace the current fleets with additional AW101 Merlins, 28 of which are now in the RAF inventory, and more than 40 are with the RN.

Although not cemented with a formal partnership agreement as in the UK, AgustaWestland's relationship with the Italian defence ministry is also a strong one. "It's a historical, mature relationship, as opposed to the contractual, obligatory one which we have with the UK," says Cole.

Italy last month signed a deal worth roughly €900 million ($1.26 billion) for the company to assemble ICH-47F Chinook transport helicopters, following a pact sealed with Boeing during last year's Farnborough air show. The award covers an initial 16 aircraft, but could lead to exports.

Turkey has also become a significant market for the European company's products, with a contract in place to supply T129s adapted from the Italian army's A129 Mangusta attack helicopter design. A T129 demonstrator will fly soon at AgustaWestland's Cascina Costa facilities in Italy. This will be followed by four prototype aircraft, including two to be assembled by Tusas Aerospace Industries. "It's a good relationship, and the two teams are working well together," says Cole.

A mock-up of the T129 will be on show this week, along with one for the AW149-dervied TUHP 149, on offer to meet a cross-service Turkish utility helicopter programme requirement. First shown at April's IDEF exhibition in Istanbul, the TUHP 149 medium twin faces competition from a T-70 derivative of Sikorsky's UH-60 Black Hawk for the potentially 115-aircraft deal.

"We know the customer is seriously interested in what we've said to them," says Cole. "As to making a selection this year, the indications are that they are working towards an early decision."

UPWARD PATH

Military business dominates Agusta­Westland, with the sector accounting for 70% of its activities by value in 2008. But civil sales have been on an upwards path for the past few years, largely due to the popularity of its AW139 and Grand products.

These are on show here, with the former here in both search-and-rescue and VIP configurations, and the latter on show equipped for the emergency medical service role. The company's lightest design, the AW119 Ke, is also on display, having been launched just four months before the 2007 Paris air show.

"From a delivery point of view the civil sector is quite active," says Cole. "We had some cancellations earlier in the year, as did everybody, but we just feel at the moment that maybe things are starting to stabilise or turn."

Cole is proud of the progress made by the company since 2007. "Agusta and Westland came together some time ago, and I am very pleased with the unifying of the two companies," he says.

Source: Flight Daily News

Topics