A400-M

[Skyway]

A uns dias que esse fantasma da morte do A400M têm rondado por aí...
Tomara que não acabe, não torço contra tambem....mas seria muito estranho ver um programa de anos ser cancelado depois do primeiro vôo. As duas células de A400M virariam peça de museu.

[P44]

No Breakthrough in A400M Talks: Germany


By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 22 Jan 2010 08:03




BERLIN - Talks in Berlin on the troubled Airbus A400M military transport plane ended without a breakthrough on Friday but the parties still aim to reach an agreement by January 31, Germany said.

The talks on Jan. 21-22 among representatives from seven NATO powers that have ordered the aircraft and Airbus parent EADS were conducted in a "constructive atmosphere," defense ministry spokesman Christian Dienst said.

"The countries and EADS are to meet again soon with the goal of reaching a solution acceptable to all by the end of January," Dienst told a regular government briefing in Berlin.
The seven countries have ordered 180 of the aircraft for 20 billion euros ($28 billion) from European plane maker Airbus but the project is three years behind schedule and a reported 11 billion euros over budget.
Airbus has threatened to pull the plug unless the seven - Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey - stump up more cash, warning that the fate of the European aerospace giant depended on the project.
France has said it is ready to pay more, as long as others follow suit, but Germany is seen as more reluctant. Berlin has ordered 60 of the aircraft and France 50, and are the two biggest customers.
"We stand by the A400M, but not at any price," Dienst said.
French business daily La Tribune cited an unidentified source on its website as saying the program needs an extra 5.2 billion euros and that EADS in Berlin had offered to provide 800 million euros of this.
Contacted by AFP, EADS declined to comment on the report.
Airbus has 52,000 employees around Europe, with about 10,000 working on the A400M, a state-of-the-art new aircraft that can carry troops, armored vehicles and helicopters which would replace Europe's ageing fleet of transport planes.
The date and location of the next round of talks were under discussion, Dienst said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke on the phone Jan. 21 but the A400M was not among the issues discussed, Merkel's spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.
Instead the two discussed preparations for next week's meeting in London on Afghanistan and upcoming Franco-German talks in Paris on February 4, Wilhelm said.

[WalterGaudério]

No Breakthrough in A400M Talks: Germany


By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 22 Jan 2010 08:03




BERLIN - Talks in Berlin on the troubled Airbus A400M military transport plane ended without a breakthrough on Friday but the parties still aim to reach an agreement by January 31, Germany said.

The talks on Jan. 21-22 among representatives from seven NATO powers that have ordered the aircraft and Airbus parent EADS were conducted in a "constructive atmosphere," defense ministry spokesman Christian Dienst said.

"The countries and EADS are to meet again soon with the goal of reaching a solution acceptable to all by the end of January," Dienst told a regular government briefing in Berlin.
The seven countries have ordered 180 of the aircraft for 20 billion euros ($28 billion) from European plane maker Airbus but the project is three years behind schedule and a reported 11 billion euros over budget.
Airbus has threatened to pull the plug unless the seven - Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey - stump up more cash, warning that the fate of the European aerospace giant depended on the project.
France has said it is ready to pay more, as long as others follow suit, but Germany is seen as more reluctant. Berlin has ordered 60 of the aircraft and France 50, and are the two biggest customers.
"We stand by the A400M, but not at any price," Dienst said.
French business daily La Tribune cited an unidentified source on its website as saying the program needs an extra 5.2 billion euros and that EADS in Berlin had offered to provide 800 million euros of this.
Contacted by AFP, EADS declined to comment on the report.
Airbus has 52,000 employees around Europe, with about 10,000 working on the A400M, a state-of-the-art new aircraft that can carry troops, armored vehicles and helicopters which would replace Europe's ageing fleet of transport planes.
The date and location of the next round of talks were under discussion, Dienst said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke on the phone Jan. 21 but the A400M was not among the issues discussed, Merkel's spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.
Instead the two discussed preparations for next week's meeting in London on Afghanistan and upcoming Franco-German talks in Paris on February 4, Wilhelm said.

O A 400 está a perigo, mas acho que sai. Mas é aquela história. SE o An-70 deslanchar agora que a Ucrânia tem um presidente pró-Moscou, babau A 400.

[Carlos Mathias]

A-400Micos

[Junker]

A Antonov parece que vai participar do KC-390, também. Acho que depende do acordo de cooperação técnico-militar Brasil-Ucrânia, atualmente em concepção.

[WalterGaudério]

A Antonov parece que vai participar do KC-390, também. Acho que depende do acordo de cooperação técnico-militar Brasil-Ucrânia, atualmente em concepção.

Olha, ouvi falar nisso em novembro/09, mas não sei não eim..., tenho que esperar para ver. Em novembro era fácil acreditar que daria em nada, mas agora com novo presidente amigo do Putin..., pode ser.

[Carlos Mathias]

E a coisa vai se fechando para um certo amigo da onça, que gosta de soprar cabeça de general brasileiro.

[P44]

A400M Success Ushers in a New Era for Tactical Airlift


(Source: U.K Ministry of Defence; issued January 26, 2010)



Officials at DE&S have described the first flights of the A400M transport aircraft as heralding a new era in tactical and strategic airlift capability.

The first flight took place from Seville in Spain in mid-December and lasted three and a half hours. Further flights took place on 23 December and 7 January.

Tim Rowntree, Director Air Support at DE&S, said:

"This is a great achievement for the European aerospace industry and one that will bring the capabilities that our armed forces need and deserve in the 21st century. But we are not out of the woods yet; the aircraft now needs to prove itself through a demanding flight trials programme, and we know from experience that this will be a tough challenge.

"Also, along with the other partner nations, we are still in discussion with the company to re-baseline the programme following last year’s reported programme slippage and associated cost challenges. A400M will bring a great new capability, but not at any price. It is fair to say, though, that most major programmes have their challenges and these should not detract from what is a fantastic achievement for this flagship programme."

Huw Cable, leader of DE&S’ A400M team, added:

"This event provides a great boost for my team and is a very significant event in the development of the aircraft. This first step in a challenging flight test programme is a testament to the efforts and expertise of the engineers and specialists in Airbus Military, OCCAR and the customer nations."

In capacity terms, A400M will carry roughly twice the load of a C-130 Hercules, and will be able to lift new armoured vehicles in the 30 tonne class.

A400M is being procured on behalf of seven European nations, including the UK, by the OCCAR management agency, working in partnership with the national project teams. The other nations are Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Spain, France and Luxembourg.

-ends-

[Sintra]

Ainda se lembram deste?

[WalterGaudério]

Ainda se lembram deste?

Pois é..., não sei pq não vingou, foram produzidas apenas 13 ou 15 unidades...
Tive a oportunidade de ver um deles bem de perto no aeroporto Int. do Galeão em 1978. Estava trazendo cavalos para o Brasil...

[Glauber Prestes]

Cada vez que aparece uma notícia nova aqui, eu penso que é sobre o cancelamento do A-400!

[Pablo Maica]

O Belfast trouxe alguns dos Super Linx modernizados ao Brasil. Acho bonito esse avião, bem, cara de guerra fria!


Um abraço e t+

[Grifon]

EADS Wants Another $9 Billion For A400M: Germany

BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 28 Jan 2010 09:02

BERLIN - European aerospace giant EADS is demanding another 6.4 billion euros ($9 billion) from client countries to cover the rising cost of the Airbus A400M military plane, Germany said Jan. 28.
The figure is more than three times higher than the two billion euros the seven client nations are willing to pay to get the long-delayed project off the ground, the Bundestag lower house of parliament said in a statement.
Berlin nevertheless expects a deal to be reached "next week or the week after," albeit after an initial deadline of January 31.
The figures emerged during a hearing late Wednesday with a representative of the German defense ministry before the budgetary committee on progress in the protracted negotiations between EADS and the client countries' governments.
"According to the ministry, all seven European nations that want to buy the transport plane have dismissed these demands as 'baseless'," the Bundestag said in a statement.
"Nevertheless, Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said we are ready to negotiate at the state-secretary level because, in terms of security policy, the transport plane has no alternative."
Three crisis meetings this month have failed to produce a breakthrough.
Seven countries have ordered 180 of the aircraft for 20 billion euros ($28 billion) from European plane maker Airbus but the project is three years behind schedule and a reported 11 billion euros over budget.
Airbus has threatened to pull the plug unless the seven - Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey - stump up more cash, warning that the fate of the European aerospace giant depended on the project.
Airbus has 52,000 employees around Europe, with about 10,000 working on the A400M, a state-of-the-art new aircraft that can carry troops, armored vehicles and helicopters and would replace Europe's ageing fleet of transport planes.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =EUR&s=AIR

[P44]

frak, 9 billion

[P44]

French Audit Report Reveals Weapon Prices, A400M Details


(Source: defense-aerospace.com; issued Feb. 18, 2010)



PARIS --- The unit cost of the seven largest French weapon systems has risen by an average of 33.9 percent since their launch, according to the 2010 annual report of France’s national audit court, the Cour des Comptes. However, most of the increase is due to large cuts in production numbers prompted by military downsizing at the end of the Cold War, according to the defense ministry’s rebuttal, and not to mismanagement or inefficiency.

France’s share of the Franco-German program to develop and produce the Tiger attack helicopter, for example, was initially estimated at 8.89 billion euros for 215 helicopters, but although the number of helicopters bought by France was subsequently reduced to 80 its share of the program will now cost 5.89 billion euros. This led the Tiger’s unit price to nearly double, from 41.5 million euros to 73.7 million euros, the Court reported.

But according to the dissenting brief provided by the French Ministry of Defence and included in the Court’s report, unit production costs for the Tiger have increased by only 51.8%, from 33.5 million to 50.8 million, mainly because the cut in the production run. This, the ministry maintains, shows price inflation is mostly attributable to production cuts rather than to haphazard management or irregular funding. It adds that inflation is aggravated because early production items are much more expensive than late-production items that end up being cut.

In its overview of defense procurement issues, the Court identifies the same reasons for cost over-runs and schedule slippages that national auditors have found in the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries. In this respect, at least, there is no “French exception.”

These reasons include, in no particular order:
-- insufficient preparatory work and technological maturity at program launch;
-- insufficient and irregular funding;
-- over-ambitious technical specifications;
-- specification changes during development;
-- postponements due to non-technical issues, especially for international programs;
-- under-estimating development, production and sustainment costs;
-- a preference for multipurpose, expensive weapons rather than simpler, cheaper ones capable of a single mission; and
-- unsatisfactory contractual arrangements.


The audit report and the dissenting figures provided by the defense ministry also offer a rare glimpse of the actual cost of French weapons. Each Rafale fighter, the ministry says, now costs 101.1 million euros to produce, compared to an original estimate of 96.6 million (all prices are expressed in 2009 prices). This works out to an increase of only 4.7% over initial estimates, the ministry says, but given that the program was launched in the mid-1980s such a claim appears surprising at best.

The MoD figure is almost one-third less than the 142.3 million euro price estimated by the Court, which arrived at its own figure by dividing the program’s current cost by the reduced number of units to be procured. No indications are provided as to how the defense ministry’s own cost figures were computed.


COST OF MAJOR FRENCH WEAPON PROGRAMS


UC = Unit Cost
Source: Cour des Comptes with figures provided by DGA and MoD.


The other current unit production prices provided in the Court’s report, and contested by the defense ministry, include (see table above for details; all prices in 2009 euros):

-- Le Terrible-class nuclear missile submarine (3.1 billion euros each),
-- Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine (1.09 billion euros each),
-- FREMM multipurpose frigate (550.2 million each),
-- VBCI wheeled infantry combat vehicle (3.2 million each), and the
-- NH90 helicopter (38.6 million each).

The Court did not report on the A400M’s costs, as these are being renegotiated between partner governments and industry. However, in a detailed analysis of the A400M contract and its development, the report reveals some previously unknown aspects of the program:

-- France had only earmarked 91.5 million euros for the A400M in its 1997-2002 military spending blueprint, and those funds were specifically budgeted for 2002. “This is one of the reasons why the idea of a global contract was retained in 1998. Thus, France committed to spending over 5 billion euros to develop and buy 50 aircraft when practically no money was budgeted for this expenditure.”

-- Industry initially budgeted 84 million euros for a risk reduction phase. This was refused by governments (with the exception of France, which alone approved 8.4 million euros) even though, with the benefit of hindsight, it might have helped to avoid some of the problems encountered during the development phase.

-- A global contract covering both development and production has advantages for customer governments, but ultimately became the source of considerable difficulties because it was probably not appropriate for a program which was required to develop a turboprop engine with unprecedented performance in the Western world, and whose avionics are particularly complex.

-- OCCAr (Organisme Conjoint pour la Coopération dans le domaine de l’ARmement), agreed to cap penalties for late delivery for some of the programs that it manages (including the A400M and Tiger), thereby weakening its capacity to react and to negotiate with industry.

-- Germany insisted on particularly demanding performance for the A400M’s navigation system, the Court notes, its implication being that this needlessly complicated development and added to its overall cost.

-- Responding to the Court’s assertion that the A400M’s specification was too ambitious, the French defense ministry observed that “the initial requirement was for a single aircraft suitable for both strategic transport missions (high subsonic speed at medium and high altitudes, with a good payload), and tactical transport (landing on unprepared strips, cargo and personnel drops and extraction, low-level navigation) missions. Given this basic and overriding requirement, the military performance requirements were not excessive.”

-ends-