Programma GCAP

In this podcast, hear from Richard Berthon, UK Director of Combat Air, Herman Claesen, FCAS Managing Director, BAE Systems and Air Cdre Jonny Moreton, UK Programme Director, Future Combat Air Acquisition Programme, UK discuss the key points of this roundtable.

The worst thing when they ask France for a "reasonable" share is that they got NOTHING with their purchases with their eyes closed in the US...

Very interesting article from Die Welt which only now discovers (article of 10/11) that even the maintenance of the CH47 and other F35 will not be done in Germany...

www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article2420...ct.onsitesearch

Not Even Maintenance - German Defense Ministry Ignoring Its Own Industry

The Federal Ministry of Defense wants to order new fighter jets and helicopters from the United States for several billion euros. German industry should not even take over the maintenance. Now she's sounding the alarm, warning of US dependency - and hypothesizing.

This time it is not a warning about dependence on China, but on the United States. And this also does not affect the semiconductor industry, but armaments. The Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry (BDLI) sees the risk of leaving almost empty-handed with the planned purchase of F-35 fighter jets and CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters for more than 16 billion dollars. euros. So far, the Ministry of Defense or the federal government has not even demanded that German industry be involved at least in the maintenance, repair and support of the models, BDLI representatives criticized during a a videoconference. The new American fighter planes or helicopters intended for the Bundeswehr could therefore not be maintained in Germany, but in other European countries of the network of the American armed forces or by the American companies Lockheed (F-35) or Boeing (Chinook) , said Martin Presidency Kroell BDLI. This creates a dangerous addiction.

Given the future viability of German industry, this would be a major loss for military and civil aviation. There is also an economic aspect: “The money we spend in the United States does not come back. A participation of domestic industry, on the other hand, pays off and creates jobs. "It's not just about maintenance and support, it's also about strategic industrial policy," says Kroell. German industry should sit at the table on an equal footing “and not leave everything to friends in the United States”. Wolfgang Schoder, BDLI board member and head of Airbus Helicopters Germany, argues the same. As long as there is no contractual requirement, Boeing will see no urgent need for helicopters to involve German industry. The focus is on supplying the US Armed Forces. The federal government must therefore determine before signing the contract what actions are taken in Germany to have sovereignty. Buy off the shelf advertisement The purchase of fighter planes and helicopters from the United States is one of the major projects of the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr. One of the peculiarities is that the replacement of older Tornado models and heavy helicopters is treated as an agreement between the governments of Berlin and Washington. Experts speak of an FMS (Foreign Military Sales) company, in which purchases are made almost directly, without extensive special requests, often referred to in the industry as "expensive German solutions". In the case of helicopters, Europe does not have a comparable model anyway, so it must be ordered from the United States. When replacing obsolete Tornado models, rapid availability plays a role. The F-35 model can be used as a future carrier aircraft to drop tactical atomic bombs, the so-called nuclear sharing of the Bundeswehr.

The industry association BDLI does not understand why the Federal Government has so far not planned to involve its own aviation industry in the billion-euro purchases. Other European countries that have ordered the F-35 have firmly agreed to thorough consideration as well as maintenance, servicing and parts production, BDLI representative Kroell said. The most recent example is Switzerland. After all, taxpayers' money was used to build a competitive industry in Germany for the operational readiness of the Bundeswehr. Over the next 30, 40, 50 years, however, the new systems would need to be maintained, repaired, and possibly further developed.The Federal Ministry of Defense said it was concerned that German participation would make procurement even more complex and could be delayed. In addition, American manufacturers could take advantage of this to increase prices.Obviously, the department also lacks experience in dealing with these international companies. According to information from the BDLI, the Ministry of Defense does not feel responsible for industrial policy. Kroell admitted that the involvement of German industry could make purchases more expensive by a few percentage points. However, projects should be calculated over the entire period of use. In the case of heavy helicopters, only 30% of total costs would go to procurement, but 70% to maintenance over the next 30 years.
AmendedSaturday at 4:43 p.m.by Pakal