Non-Subscriber Extract
Jane's All the World's Aircraft examines recent developments in civil and military aviation.
23 March 2007
A380 faces tough challenges
Having been hailed upon its integration into a single company as a triumph for European integration, Airbus continued to reflect the political realities of the EU in February 2007 when CEO Louis Gallois attempted overdue restructuring, with the attendant economies, closures and loss of 10,000 jobs.
The EADS/Airbus strategy appears to be one in which it matches Boeing's Dreamliner manufacturing plan, whereby some 90 per cent of the aircraft's key items are designed and built by outside firms. The UK is also keen to participate in this process, despite the fact that BAE Systems disposed of its 20 per cent Airbus share in 2006. Divestment was to schedule, which resulted in it coming immediately after the share price plummet that accompanied the mid-year, management-related contretemps.
A traditional supplier of Airbus wings, the UK division of the company, which will lose 1,600 jobs in the current reorganisation, is investing in composites technology and looking to bring in experienced partners to align itself with its parent's plans for diversification of development and supply.
Military aircraft
For many years to come, the world of military aviation will refer to December 2006 as a time-marker for two events of strategic importance. In the West, Lockheed Martin flew the prototype F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and in the East, Russia's Air Forces (VVS) received the first two Sukhoi Su-34 interdictors from series production. The first event is significant for not only the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, but for the several nations expected to acquire the machine and operate it as the major - if not the sole - combat aircraft in their inventories until the 2040s.
'Fullback' is a name which will probably convey only an erroneous, sport-related message to most Western military personnel, which fact is a reflection of the diminished threat of conflict with a militarily weakened Russia since 1991. However dimly recalled, that is the reporting name assigned to Sukhoi's latest interdictor, the Su-34, which is earmarked to replace the Su-24 'Fencer'.
After a long pause caused by financial instability, Russia is again receiving new military combat aircraft from what is planned to be a properly funded and productive assembly line. Even allied to a recent resurgence of political bullying from the Kremlin, several squadrons of 'Fullbacks' - a still distant prospect - will not signal a return to the Cold War, but the recent delivery does mark a turning point in the fortunes of the VVS which Western countries should note and monitor.