F R 1 1 - 9 6

Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 11/96 Eurofighter EF2000: INDUSTRY PUSHES FOR A QUICK DECISION by Karl Schwarz BDLI (German Aerospace Industry Association) and works councilshave stressed that the crisis of the German aerospace industry will aggravate if the current large aerospace projects are not approved for series production expeditiously. "At the end of last year we were hoping that we had finally achieved planning security, but today the situation looks very discouraging again", Werner Heinzmann described the frustration of Germany's aerospace industry with its customer Bundeswehr (German armed forces). In his position as chairman of BDLI's Defence Technology Forum, Dasa's board member presented a memorandum about the significance of the branch in Germany and Europe at the end of September in Bonn. The memorandum (klick here for an extended executive summary) is supposed to be the basis for a programmatic discussion of industry and political decision makers about the future of this strategic industry in Germany. This future, according to the BDLI, looks very dreary unless some drastic political measures are implemented soon. After the painful downsizing process of the past years "we can not bear any further cuts", says Heinzmann, who also sees the industry's ability to cooperate threatened - at a time when the major players in Europe are strengthening their positions for the inevitable consolidation of the continent's industries. Positive decisions about the pending major procurement programs are urgently needed, says Heinzman: "It's not just about thousands of highly qualified jobs and production plants; irretrievable know-how is at stake." This means in particular: "The decision about the series production of the Eurofighter must be made this year. Anything else would have disastrous consequences", said Heinzmann. Prices as well as schedules are at risk if the preparation for the series production, for which no funds have been appointed in the 1997 budget yet, does not begin soon. The industry financing the program in advance is problematic due to budgetary-legal reasons. The decision concerning the Helios/Horus reconnaissance satellites is due as well: "If these programs are not executed, a significant potential in important areas, such as radar technology, is lost", said Heinzmann. In that case the planned merger of the satellite businesses of Dasa and Aérospatiale is also obsolete. The strategic reconnaissance is of essential significance for the security and political integration of Europe, Heinzmann continued. Furthermore, the French are regularly stressing not to rely on the Americans when it comes to the access to sensitive information. Due to this fact, the alternate solution of Dasa supplying to a US company is of "a totally different quality". Deep cuts into the Tiger and NH90 helicopter programs would create irretrievable damage, says Heinzmann. In any case, the price per unit will rise and the number of jobs will decrease. Concerning the FLA (or FTA = Future Transport Aircraft) Heinzmann admitted that this program is not as time critical for the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). Still, in the interest of a European solution it would be worthy to orient the decision to the earlier procurement needs of Italy and Great Britain. The primary goal should be bypass by 1997's budgetary constraints and hope for an improvement of the situation. For the air defence, MEADS is an important program to keep the cooperation channels with the USA open. The one-sided orientation of the German-French cooperations has to be balanced. The situation in the missile business has become more complicated after the Matra/BAe Dynamics merger and the Luftwaffes announcement to prefer procurement of Taurus missiles instead of the Apache. Insiders now don't see much potential for a merger of Dasa's and Aérospatiale's missile businesses anymore. Such a company can not survive without joint future programs. Alternatives are already being considered; a consolidation on the national level makes a lot of sense. The above mentioned large programs are not only important for Dasa but are also essential for a variety of small and medium suppliers. This point was also stressed at the beginning of October by the working group of the works councils in defence technology and aerospace (WLR), which is already nervous about another round of lay-offs and of the exit of Germany's privately held defence technology and aerospace industry from military aircraft manufacture (See the full text of the WLR statement on Eurofighter. Just klick here). In spite of all these reasons, it's still highly uncertain how the limited funds will be used in the defence budget. Drastic competition is anticipated since there is no room to maneuver. BDLI's appeal to save money at the right place and not at the creation of Germany's technological and economical future is commendable, but the past experiences show that logical decisions of the government in this business are rare. From page 38 of FLUG REVUE 11/96 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 11/96 Copyright 1996 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated October 20, 1996