By Agence France-Presse on Monday, June 17th, 2013
Defence giants demand European drone program
Three top European defence firms called Sunday on governments to launch a program to fabricate drones that European countries are currently having to purchase from Israel or the U.S..
France’s Dassault Aviation, European aerospace giant EADS and Italy’s Finmeccanica argued this sort of joint program would “support the aptitude needs of European military while optimizing the difficult budgetary situation through pooling of study and development funding”.
They said in a press release they were prepared to interact at the creation of a ecu MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drone, which permits surveillance of vast areas over 24 hours.
The trio declared their “readiness to coordinate on the sort of program supporting the safety needs of our European governments and army.”
The pledge to interact seemed to be an indication that Dassault and EADS were burying the hatchet after years of adverse relations, notably over MALE drones.
The drones, beforehand manufactured only by Israel and its chief ally the usa, were utilized in modern warfare, notably in Afghanistan and Mali.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday that Paris intended to purchase 12 “Reaper” observation drones from the usa in a deal worth some 670 million euros ($894 million).
He criticized the truth that these couldn’t be manufactured and acquired in Europe, estimating that European countries need as lots of 40 of the high-tech craft.
Last month, Germany scrapped a plan to shop for four “Euro Hawk” unmanned surveillance drones, much larger “strategic” planes, citing fears that aviation authorities doesn’t certify them.
But the benefit of a joint European drive, said the 3 companies, will be that “critical requirements round the certification of drones… would inherently be built into this system from the onset”.
“European sovereignty and independence inside the management of knowledge and intelligence can be guaranteed while simultaneously delivering a strong system resilient against cyber attacks,” they said.
Information obtained from drones currently passes throughout the United states of america or Israel as there isn’t a “European” process of transmission.
Experts believe the market in drones is likely one of the few sectors within which the eu aerospace industry could make in-roads, in view that a better generation of combat jets is not really expected within the skies until 2030.
“Europe has lost at the least 10 years” during this sector, EADS boss Tom Enders told reporters on Thursday, adding: “The longer it takes, the more dominant the Americans and the Israelis would be.”
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