Europe's EADS eyes first US chopper as tanker deal tempter
European aviation giant EADS delivered its first helicopter to the US military under a two-billion-dollar contract that could be a stepping stone to a colossal deal for refuelling tankers.
The first of 322 "light utility" choppers ordered by the US Army was handed over by EADS division Eurocopter at a ceremony at the European firm's US helicopter manufacturing site here.
The UH-145 helicopter is designed to carry two pilots and up to eight passengers for a variety of support roles including transport and medical evacuation.
Eurocopter's July victory in the Army bidding was a coup for EADS, which also controls the civilian aircraft maker Airbus. But the bigger prize would be a contract to revamp the US Air Force's tanker fleet that could be worth up to 100 billion dollars.
"This deal is definitely a door opener," Eurocopter chief executive Lutz Bertling told AFP.
"For sure if we show them that we deliver what we have promised, it will be good for the joint cargo aircraft and for the tanker deal as well," he said.
EADS is up against US rival Boeing for the tanker contract, which is expected to come up for fresh bidding in January. The US Air Force wants to replace one-third of its 500 in-flight refuelling planes.
The US Army and Air Force meanwhile are jointly commissioning a new small cargo plane, with EADS and Boeing both interested.
In 2004, the US Congress froze an Air Force deal with Boeing to convert 100 Boeing 767s into fuel tankers.
The move followed revelations that the Air Force procurement official overseeing the programme had steered billions of dollars in contracts to Boeing before securing a job at the company.
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers now in Air Force service date from the 1960s. The Pentagon has made clear that only a US-made plane will be in the running as a successor.
That is why EADS last year selected a site at Mobile, Alabama to host its bid for the lucrative contract. The European company is running for the contract in partnership with US company Northrop Grumman.
EADS has highlighted its success with the Eurocopter to burnish its credentials with US politicians at the state and federal level.
If it wins the tanker contract, EADS says it will pump 600 million dollars into Mobile and hire up to 1,000 personnel with the aim of converting as many as 20 Airbus A330 commercial jets into a military configuration each year.
But the European aerospace company will have to overcome hostility stemming from US accusations that Airbus benefits from billions in illegal European state subsidies in its intense competition with Boeing for commercial planes.
In May last year, the US House of Representatives called on the Pentagon to deny military contracts to any foreign company receiving a government subsidy in a country that is a member of the World Trade Organisation.
And despite the political flak it has itself encountered over the tanker project, Boeing remains confident of its chances.
"To this point we are the only one to have ever built a boom tanker," said Marc McGraw, vice president of tanker programs for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, referring to the rigid hose used in Boeing refuelling planes.
"Developing a tanker is not an easy thing. It's a pretty high-technology aircraft and it's not something you just do overnight," McGraw said, while dismissing any likelihood of Boeing sharing the contract with EADS.
But Ralph Crosby, chief executive of EADS North America, noted the European company had already won tanker orders from the British and Australian air forces, to provide revamped Airbus A330s.
"So this issue of immaturity seems a bit, to me, to be misplaced," he said. "Right now we are ready to compete."
AFP
