Formal negotiations on international co-operation deals to start next year as Boeing seeks to avoid mistakes of JSF
The US Navy has identified Australia, Canada and Italy as likely candidates to each invest $300 million early next year to join the Boeing Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) programme.
Formal negotiations are to start in January on separate co-development deals with the three governments, says Capt Steve Eastburg, MMA programme manager. Ideally, agreements would be completed before the third quarter, giving the foreign industries a few months to bid on contracts before the bulk of the MMA design is frozen in September 2005.
Although foreign partners will not have access to work on components that are common to the baseline Boeing 737-800, they can compete for the MMA-specific items, such as the weapons bay, wing pylons and mission systems, says Tony Parasida, Boeing vice-president maritime systems. Governments with co-development deals also may be granted indigenous facilities to perform sustainment work on a potential worldwide fleet of up to 150 aircraft, he adds.
But misgivings caused by the troubled international industrial alliance for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which includes Australia, Canada and Italy, must be overcome. The navy hopes not to repeat the mistakes of the Lockheed Martin-led JSF team. "You don't set up false expectations - not that the JSF team did," Parasida adds. "We are not guaranteeing any degree of industrial participation."
The navy's actions seem to echo the early days of the JSF international marketing effort. Again, the US side has approached each of the interested governments with business cases showing potential financial returns from investing in the project. Also, foreign bidders will have to operate under short timelines to secure the necessary echnology transfer clearances and compete for work before most of the contracts are awarded.
Seven other countries seeking a replacement aircraft for the anti-submarine warfare mission also have shown interest in the project.
Boeing won the $3.9 billion MMA contract in June, promising to deliver the first in-service unit a year early and generate $1 billion in savings. Five months later, Boeing and the navy are holding to the early delivery strategy, but some of the savings may have been lost by the navy's decision to delay the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance programme by three years, says Parasida.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
