Back to news

September 10, 2018 | International, Aerospace

‘We are not dupes’: France takes step away from US with fighter program

By:

PARIS — France has linked its search for independence from U.S. export rules with the Franco-German project for a future fighter jet, in a bid to boost foreign sales of the aircraft, the French armed forces minister said.

France's effort to become less dependent on U.S. components and promote exports were written into the same letter of intent signed in June with Germany for the FCAS project, Florence Parly told AJPAE, the aeronautics and space journalists association, on Sept. 6.

“The exportability of the (Future Combat Air System) is a key element to ensure the economic viability of the program,” she said. “We have to think as upstream as possible to secure this exportability.”

The minister previously told parliamentarians the French government aims to cut its reliance on U.S. components in the wake of an American refusal to authorize the sale of parts for a French Scalp cruise missile requested by Egypt. French attempts to persuade Washington to lift restrictions under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations have failed.

Parly declined to give examples, but she said the problems Paris has encountered in the pursuit of foreign arms sales “stemmed in appearance from strategic factors and in reality from commercial competition."

“We are not dupes,” she said.

France needs to gradually cut its reliance on certain American components, although it is impossible to be completely independent, she admitted, adding that there is a plan to reduce that dependence.

“Experience has led us to undertake this action,” she said.

Companies should take the responsibility for greater independence, as they faced the consequences of failed export efforts, she said.

“They are in the front line,” she said, noting that the government is in dialog with industry and that some companies already understand the situation and are fully committed.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/09/07/we-are-not-dupes-france-takes-step-away-from-us-with-fighter-program

On the same subject

  • Karem Aircraft announces FARA Competitive Prototype team

    July 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Karem Aircraft announces FARA Competitive Prototype team

    Karem Aircraft Press Release Karem Aircraft, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Raytheon Company have formed a team to execute the U.S. Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Competitive Prototype (FARA CP) development contract. FARA CP will provide the U.S. Army with a new armed scout aircraft. The three companies will apply decades of combined knowledge, skills, and abilities to bring the best of vehicle and systems technologies and processes to the first aircraft within the Future Vertical Lift family of systems. Karem's unique active variable speed rotor technologies have been developed over the last decade through extensive collaboration with the U.S. Army. “Karem has enjoyed a strong partnership with the U.S. Army over the last decade collaboratively developing VTOL technologies and we look forward to leveraging the U.S. Army's investment by applying these innovative technologies to our FARA aircraft,” said Thomas Berger, Karem's program manager for FARA CP. “With our two exceptional partners, each with a strong track record of delivering combat capability in support of the warfighter, we are now able to provide a complete solution for the U.S. Army that maintains battlefield superiority into the future.” This expertise will be augmented with Northrop Grumman's manned and autonomous military aircraft development, system integration, production, and support expertise and Raytheon's systems architecture, mission equipment, and weapons capabilities. The Karem Aircraft-Northrop Grumman-Raytheon team will work collaboratively with the U.S. Army's multidisciplinary team to meet the needs of the FARA CP program. https://www.verticalmag.com/press-releases/karem-aircraft-announces-fara-competitive-prototype-team/

  • New USAF Materials Hint At High-Altitude Role For B-21

    March 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    New USAF Materials Hint At High-Altitude Role For B-21

    Steve Trimble The design of the Northrop Grumman B-21's trailing edge has led to speculation about a high-altitude role for the secretive stealth bomber, and new U.S. Air Force statements appear to confirm that analysis. As the U.S. Air Force enters a legally required environmental impact review process for basing the new bomber, service officials disclosed a few new details about the design on large poster boards displayed at public meetings since February. The posters are now available on B21EIS.com, a clearinghouse web site set up by the Air Force to share data during the year-long process to complete the final environmental impact statement. “The B-21 is not expected to use low altitude training routes,” the Air Force poster says. The B-2 was originally conceived as a high-altitude bomber, but a last-minute requirements change during the development phase forced Northrop Grumman to redesign the bomber for a low-altitude mission. As a result, the trailing edge was transformed from a simple W-shape to the sawtooth design seen today. The B-2, like the preceding B-52 and B-1B fleets, need low-altitude training routes. The renderings of the B-21 released by the Air Force so far reveal a trailing edge that resembles the original, high-altitude design for the B-2. The Air Force has never confirmed operational details about the future stealth bomber. Another comment on the Air Force's poster provides the first official description of the B-21's acoustic signature, as well as the performance of the engines. “The B-21 engine noise is expected to be quieter than the B-1B and about the same or quieter than the B-2,” the poster says. Previously, the only detail released by the Air Force about the B-21's engines is that Pratt & Whitney is named as one of seven of Northrop's suppliers. The poster data appears to confirm expectations that the B-21 would use a non-afterburning engine, like the similarly subsonic, flying wing-shaped, B-2. The supersonic B-1B is powered by afterburning engines. The Air Force has selected Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakora as the site for the first B-21 operational squadron, followed by Dyess AFB in Texas and Whiteman AFB, Missouri. The environmental impact review is evaluating Ellsworth and Dyess for the main operating beddown 1 location. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/new-usaf-materials-hint-high-altitude-role-b-21

  • US Army Selects Northrop Grumman, Teamed with Shield AI, for Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Prototype

    March 28, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

    US Army Selects Northrop Grumman, Teamed with Shield AI, for Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Prototype

    Northrop Grumman has been chosen by the U.S. Army to participate in Increment 2 of the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program.

All news