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January 17, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

Airbus n'écarte pas la possibilité d'assembler des avions de chasse au Québec

La Presse canadienne

Airbus n'écarte pas la possibilité que le Québec puisse accueillir une chaîne de montage d'avions de chasse ainsi qu'un lieu destiné à la construction de satellites si le géant européen parvient à décrocher de nouveaux contrats au Canada.

Ces scénarios ont été évoqués lundi par le président des activités canadiennes de la multinationale, Simon Jacques, lors d'un événement organisé par la multinationale à Mirabel, dans les Laurentides, où s'effectue l'assemblage des appareils A220, nés de la C Series de Bombardier.

Airbus convoite notamment l'appel d'offres du gouvernement canadien, qui devrait être lancé avant le début de la prochaine campagne électorale, pour l'achat de 88 avions de chasse visant à remplacer ses CF-18 vieillissants. Airbus propose l'Eurofighter Typhoon.

« Absolument », a répondu M. Jacques lorsqu'il lui a été demandé si la chaîne de montage pourrait se trouver au Québec. « Nous évaluons nos options. »

En plus d'Airbus, les entreprises Boeing, Lockheed Martin et Saab ont été retenues par le gouvernement canadien.

« La construction d'une nouvelle ligne d'assemblage, qui entraînerait la création de nombreux emplois, ne serait pas un casse-tête logistique étant donné qu'il y a de l'espace de disponible à Mirabel, dans les Laurentides, où s'effectue l'assemblage de l'avion A220 », a expliqué M. Jacques.

Puisque l'appel d'offres devrait imposer du contenu local, le dirigeant d'Airbus au Canada a dit vouloir proposer une « solution canadienne ».

Déjà un lien

L'actionnaire majoritaire de l'A220 a décroché son premier contrat d'envergure en 2016 avec Ottawa, qui lui a commandé 16 avions de recherche et de sauvetage, une entente de 2,4 milliards de dollars, en plus de 2,3 milliards en entretien et service après-vente pour 20 ans. Le premier de ces appareils doit être livré d'ici la fin de l'année.

Les CF-18 mis en service dans les années 1980 devaient être retirés d'ici 2020, mais leur remplacement s'est transformé en une longue saga.

Il y a six ans, le gouvernement Harper a abandonné dans la controverse son projet d'acheter des avions de chasse F-35 sans appel d'offres pour remplacer cette flotte vieillissante.

Le gouvernement Trudeau, qui avait par la suite décidé d'acheter 18 avions Super Hornet à Boeing également sans appel d'offres, a annulé cet achat en 2017 dans la foulée du conflit commercial entre Boeing et Bombardier à propos de la C Series.

D'ici à ce que ce contrat se concrétise, Ottawa s'est tourné vers l'Australie pour acheter des avions de chasse provisoires.

D'après M. Jacques, le Canada est « vraiment engagé » à « stimuler la concurrence », ce qui pourrait ouvrir une porte à un autre constructeur que l'américaine Boeing.

« Je pense que c'est important pour le Canada d'avoir une flotte différente de ce qu'il y a aux États-Unis [avec Boeing], a-t-il dit. [Cela serait] une bonne chose pour le NORAD [Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord]. »

Citant l'exemple du Royaume-Uni, qui est client d'Airbus et de Lockheed Martin pour sa flotte, M. Jacques a soutenu que rien n'empêchait le Canada de faire de même.

Des satellites en plus?

Parallèlement au dossier des avions de combat, le dirigeant d'Airbus a mentionné que l'entreprise pourrait se tourner vers le Québec pour la construction de satellites si sa proposition est retenue par Télésat Canada, un exploitant de satellites de télécommunication.

Cette entreprise avait sollicité des offres à Airbus et à Thales pour le lancement en orbite « d'entre 300 et 500 satellites », selon M. Jacques, dans le cadre d'un projet entourant l'accès à Internet.

« Cela viendrait changer la donne au Québec », a-t-il lancé, en évoquant au passage la création de quelque 200 emplois.

Airbus dit échanger avec différents ordres de gouvernement, dont Québec et Ottawa, dans le but de s'installer dans la province si la multinationale obtient le contrat.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1146770/airbus-possibilite-assembler-avions-chasse-quebec

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