Airbus Says Its A400M Can Save Canada $3 Billion
Airbus complained to Canada's government leaders its bid to
defense officials for the company's A400M military airlift aircraft
has gotten a cold shoulder. The European planemaker says the
Canadian military had already made up its mind to purchase Boeing
and Lockheed products before even accepting any bids.
The accusation led to an uproar in the government's House of
Commons Tuesday as lawmakers drilled the country's defense minister
Gordon O'Connor.
The government has already announced its intention to purchase
several Boeing C-17 as part of its airlift upgrade program, but
lawmakers were especially interested in the military's apparent
decision to also purchase Lockheed's C-130J. As early as ten days
ago the government insisted Lockheed's C-130J was not a favored
choice, but reports in the Canadian press say the government has
dispatched representatives from three federal branches to
Lockheed's Marietta, GA headquarters.
Airbus vice-president Richard Thompson told the Canadian
Press, "We have had opportunities to talk to . . . shall we say
decision-makers within (National Defense), and we have felt all
along that our message has not been heard or listened to. That's
why we're here."
The Canadian government hasn't announced an official winner of
the $4.9 billion contract to replace its fleet of older Hercules,
but O'Connor did say the C-130J "meets the requirements of the
military as a medium-lift aircraft and it meets all the
requirements."
He added that just because negotiations are ongoing with
individual companies the contract is still up for grabs.
When directly questioned about the
A400M, O'Connor said the government had no intention of purchasing
"paper aircraft" in apparent reference to the fact Airbus has yet
to get the A400M off the drawing board and into the air. Airbus'
website says the aircraft will first fly in 2008 and enter
production in 2009.
Airbus' Thompson blasted the Canadian military's apparent
decision to replace its airlift fleet with two different types of
aircraft. He says money wise, one airframe that can do both jobs
makes better sense.
He added that although the A400M is individually more expensive
than either of the US offerings, reduced long-term operational
costs would more than make up the difference.
Thompson further complained Airbus' sister company, Spain's
Construcciones Aeronauticas SA received the same cold shoulder for
its bid to replace Canada's Buffalo SAR aircraft with its C-295
(above) utility aircraft.
"Yes, there is a problem," Thompson said. "As a group of
companies EADS seems to find it difficult to get its voice heard.
Why? I have no idea."
Thompson didn't rule out legal action should Airbus prove to be
disqualified from bidding on the two projects.
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