30 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Aircraft makers sweeten their offers in high-stakes Swiss warplane race

By: and

COLOGNE, Germany, and WASHINGTON — Four aircraft makers have submitted final offers for Switzerland's $6.5 billion aircraft program, with Airbus and Lockheed Martin touting different approaches to assembling their planes locally.

Nov. 18 was the deadline for the quartet of hopeful vendors, which also includes Boeing and Dassault, to deliver their vision — and price — for one of the largest procurement programs in Europe.

Switzerland is looking for somewhere between 36 and 40 new aircraft to police the country's airspace. The degree of local industry participation is shaping up to be a major factor for the famously independence-minded Swiss.

Airbus got an assist from four Eurofighter operators — Germany, Spain, Italy and the U.K. — who sent their ambassadors in Switzerland to a Nov. 19 news conference to talk up the prospect of a grander industrial and political partnership that would follow a Eurofighter pick.

The Swiss are expected to make a decision in early summer 2021, following a referendum vote this September that narrowly greenlighted the budget.

The Airbus offer includes final assembly of all aircraft by way of a partner company in Switzerland, the details of which the company plans to announce in December.

Michael Flügger, Germany's ambassador in Switzerland, touted the possibility of Eurofighter-based airspace-patrol cooperation along the Italy-Switzerland-Germany axis. In addition, he said, Switzerland joining the airplane's user club would mean the country can “export” training flight noise to remote areas in the other partner countries.

Franz Posch, who heads the Airbus campaign in Switzerland, told reporters that the company's plan to locally assemble all 40 of the notional aircraft would “more than fulfill” the offset requirements established by the Swiss government.

Lockheed Martin, with its F-35, also has high hopes for the Swiss competition, hoping to broaden the plane's user base in Europe. The company's offer includes a basic program of 36 jets, with options for an additional four aircraft, Mike Kelley, who leads the company's F-35 efforts in Switzerland, said during a Nov. 19 roundtable with reporters.

While Switzerland would be able to purchase parts through the spares pool shared by all F-35 operators, the offer also contains a six-month deployed spares package — a separate pot of parts that would be managed by the Swiss government, which was necessary to meet Swiss autonomy requirements.

To meet requirements for industrial participation, Switzerland would have the opportunity to domestically produce about 400 canopies and transparencies for F-35 aircraft, and Lockheed would establish a European hub for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of F 35 canopies and transparencies in Switzerland. In addition, the country would take on certain F-35 engine and airframe sustainment projects focused on maintaining the Swiss Air Force's operational autonomy, Kelley said.

Lockheed also plans to partner with Swiss industry to create a cyber center of excellence, which would prototype a unique data network for Switzerland and build a test bed that would allow Swiss companies to test cyber capabilities in a secure environment.

On top of those efforts, Lockheed is offering one last industrial participation opportunity to Switzerland. For an additional cost, Switzerland will be able to conduct the final assembly of four F-35 aircraft at existing RUAG facilities in Emmen, allowing the Swiss technicians that currently work on the country's aging Hornet fleet to build a deeper knowledge of the aircraft's design.

That option would add a “significant cost” to the total program, Kelley said, but could allow for overall savings throughout the life cycle of the program.

Boeing, meanwhile, has positioned its offer of an F-18 Super Hornet fleet as a logical extension of Switzerland's existing F-18 infrastructure. “As an F/A-18 operator, Switzerland will have the option to reuse up to 60 percent of existing physical and intellectual infrastructure, making the transition to a Super Hornet easier and more cost effective over the life of the aircraft,” the company said in a statement.

The aircraft offer, the statement added, would “easily fit” within Switzerland's current F-18 operating budget.

The reference to cost comes after Swiss officials stressed that the fighter portion of the Air 2030 air defense modernization program includes a cost ceiling of 6 billion Swiss francs (U.S. $6.6 billion), with with an eye on potential price reductions along the way.

“Currently, Boeing is working with more than 100 current and new partners across Switzerland to identify the right opportunities for its New Fighter Aircraft industry plan,” the company said.

France's Dassault, with its offer of the Rafale, is the only vendor keeping its cards close to its chest. Citing a commitment to confidentiality, a spokeswoman told Defense News the company had no plans to characterize its offer nor the “nature of the relationship” between the Swiss and French governments to that end.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/29/aircraft-makers-sweeten-their-offers-in-high-stakes-swiss-warplane-race/

Sur le même sujet

  • Safran inaugure sa plateforme de recherche sur les aubes de turbines avancées à Gennevilliers

    7 février 2019 | International, Aérospatial

    Safran inaugure sa plateforme de recherche sur les aubes de turbines avancées à Gennevilliers

    Gennevilliers, le 6 février 2019. Safran inaugure la nouvelle plateforme de recherche sur les aubes de turbines avancées pour moteurs d'avions et d'hélicoptères en présence de Florence Parly, ministre des Armées, d'Ursula von der Leyen, ministre de la Défense allemande et de Philippe Petitcolin, Directeur Général de Safran. La plateforme de recherche sur les aubes de turbines avancées de Safran Tech, centre de Recherche et Technologie du Groupe, rassemble les compétences d'une trentaine d'ingénieurs et doctorants, dans un b'timent de 3 000 m2 doté d'équipements de haute technologie, pour mener l'ensemble des travaux de développement des futures aubes de turbines à très haute performance. Conception multi-disciplinaire, fonderie mono-cristalline, noyaux céramiques par fabrication additive, barrières thermiques, circuits de refroidissement, digitalisation des procédés, micro-perçage auto-adaptatif, contrôles non destructifs avancés utilisant l'intelligence artificielle sont quelques exemples des domaines d'expertise et d'innovation mis en oeuvre au sein de la plateforme. Les nouvelles aubes de turbines réalisées sur cette plateforme seront intégrées sur les moteurs actuels du Rafale afin d'améliorer la disponibilité opérationnelle des aéronefs et diminuer le coût du maintien en condition opérationnelle ainsi que le coût de production. Les technologies développées par la plateforme intègreront également le futur moteur militaire à haute performance de Safran Aircraft Engines dans la perspective du Système de Combat Aérien du Futur franco-allemand (SCAF). La plateforme développe également des technologies qui seront utilisées sur les moteurs civils et les moteurs d'hélicoptères. A cette occasion, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées et Philippe Petitcolin, Directeur Général de Safran ont signé le renouvellement de la convention de soutien Action PME, en présence de trois PME, Alliance Outillage, Chesneau et MSC Scanning, fournisseurs notamment de la plateforme de recherche. Le site de Gennevilliers, en activité depuis 110 ans, est l'un des sites historiques du Groupe. Situé à une quinzaine de kilomètres au nord-ouest de Paris, il regroupe, sur 15 hectares en bord de Seine, les activités de forge, de fonderie et d'usinage de pièces aéronautiques de Safran Aircraft Engines réparties en trois centres d'excellence industrielle : pour les aubes de turbines, les aubes de compresseurs et les pièces tournantes. https://www.safran-group.com/fr/media/safran-inaugure-sa-plateforme-de-recherche-sur-les-aubes-de-turbines-avancees-gennevilliers-20190206

  • Tactical communications for the Bundeswehr: Rheinmetall wins framework contract with a potential order value of €400 million

    25 avril 2024 | International, Aérospatial

    Tactical communications for the Bundeswehr: Rheinmetall wins framework contract with a potential order value of €400 million

    April 24, 2024 - Rheinmetall has been commissioned by the Bundeswehr in a key project for tactical communications which is of cross-sectional importance for the entire force. The technology company...

  • No COVID impacts on Apache production, supply chain, says Boeing

    14 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    No COVID impacts on Apache production, supply chain, says Boeing

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has not had an impact on the production and delivery of Apache helicopters, but Boeing is closely watching the international supply chain for signs of slowdown, a company official said Tuesday. The coronavirus impact going forward is difficult to predict, said T.J. Jamison, Boeing's director of vertical lift international sales. Still, he expressed a belief that the company should be able to stay on track with its plans to produce more than 100 Apache models in 2020. While production on the CH-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area was stopped for two weeks in April, the Mesa, Arizona, Boeing plant that produces the Apache never had to stop work. However, there have been a number of individuals working remotely, primarily from the sales team; it will likely be a month or more before they are all back working at their desks, Jamison said. Some international customers have signaled that “we might need a potential slowdown in operations. But not one has said: ‘Hey, we need to cancel these orders because of the COVID-19 issue,' ” Jamison said. “There have been no cancellations, and there have been no significant requests for delay.” However, just like the Pentagon, the company is closely watching the international supply chain. For the Apache, that includes fuselage production in Hydrabad, India (managed by Tata) and in Sacheon, South Korea (managed by Korea Aerospace Industries). Boeing's decision to maintain two suppliers for that production has “served us very well” in the current situation, Jamison said, adding that while India has been hit hard by COVID-19 and is undergoing government-mandated shutdowns, the Korea Aerospace Industries plant is able to keep production on track. “We really do not like to have a single point of failure with any of our components that we receive through the supply chain,” he said. “There hasn't been a dramatic impact to the supply chain today. Again, I don't have that crystal ball and I can't tell you how this pandemic is going to play out. But right now, there hasn't been a dramatic impact.” https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/05/13/no-covid-impacts-on-apache-production-supply-chain-says-boeing/

Toutes les nouvelles