Airbus executives will meet counterparts from BAE Systems to explore how the pan-European group could join the UK company's next-generation fighter jet programme, as it seeks to chart a new course for its military aircraft business. Executives will discuss opportunities for collaboration across several areas of future combat air, including the Global Combat Air Programme between BAE and its partners from Italy and Japan, according to four people familiar with the plans. No final decisions are expected at this stage.
The talks come just over a fortnight after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK would be open to Germany joining GCAP. Berlin has been seeking new partners since the collapse in the summer of its own project with France and Spain, known as FCAS, after a bitter industrial dispute between Airbus and French jet maker Dassault Aviation. An initial plan for a German-led alternative by Airbus, its Spanish partner Indra and other industrial groups has been dropped, leaving Berlin with the option of joining GCAP or forging an alliance with Sweden's Saab.
Bringing Airbus and Indra into GCAP would not be straightforward. BAE and its partners, Leonardo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have already agreed on the key workshare elements of the programme, as well as ownership of intellectual property. The UK, Italy and Japan also want to keep their plan to have a supersonic jet in service by 2035. Still, Berlin's entry would bring money and more orders for GCAP. Airbus and BAE also partner on the Eurofighter Typhoon programme.
Airbus's Mike Schoellhorn said the company would insist on playing a key role in shaping the project. At the meeting, the companies will also discuss alternative areas of co-operation, such as autonomous collaborative combat aircraft and the so-called combat cloud. BAE described the upcoming meeting as routine, while Airbus declined to comment further.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing