Airbus Group is Proposing a New Way Forward on MALE with France, Germany and Italy

Defence Turkey:As of 1 January 2014, the defence businesses of the EADS Group are consolidated into one division Airbus Defence and Space.  Could you please inform us about new structure?

Airbus Defence and Space is a division of the parent company Airbus Group – which comes from the renaming of the former EADS company. And it sits alongside two other Airbus Group divisions – Airbus, which is the commercial airliner business, and Airbus Helicopters which is the renamed Eurocopter. Then inside Airbus Defence and Space we are divided into four business lines for operational purposes, although we don’t use those names as brands. Those are: Military Aircraft, which is the former Airbus Military; Space, which is essentially the former Astrium; and then two that consist of the assets of the former Cassidian with some elements of Astrium called CIS – Communication, Intelligence & Security, and Electronics, which provides expertise to systems integrators both inside and outside Airbus Group.

Defence Turkey: What is the strategy of merging of companies under the umbrella of Airbus Defence and Space?

Fundamentally it is all about improving competitiveness. Under the old structure we had three companies in our defence and space businesses. They were great businesses but taken together they could not perform at the level that they were capable of doing. To get to where we should be we need to cut costs, eliminate product and resource overlaps, create synergies in our operations and product portfolio and better focus our research and development (R&D) effort. And in the new integrated company that’s exactly what we are doing.”

Defence Turkey: Within the light of new structure and strategy, what is your approach to new products, new technologies? What will be your core business areas?

We are a R&D powerhouse, spending something like €3 billion of our each money on research each year, and that will continue. And we will focus more than ever on translating the results of that effort into real-world products. You will see us in most of the same areas that we have always been – aircraft of all kinds, satellites, physical security – but we will be working hard to grow into promising new markets like unmanned aviation and cybersecurity.

Defence Turkey:What is your new marketing strategy in global regions?

What we know very well is that we are going to see more and more of our growth come from outside our traditional European and North American markets where defence budgets are flat or even declining. We have one of the most international profiles of any major manufacturing company in the world, but there are important areas where we need to have more substantial presence and, perhaps more significantly, to be more closely integrated with local markets and partners. 

Defence Turkey: How do you assess your activities in the first half of 2014? Could you please enlighten us about the achievements taken in last 6 months?

We are pretty pleased with progress. It’s been a great pleasure to see our people breaking down old barriers and collaborating across business lines. We are building senior management teams with new lines of responsibility that are unleashing the talents of our best people across markets. And essentially we will be up and running by 1 July as we planned with every expectation of rapidly seeing the benefits that we hoped for. 

Defence Turkey: What is your approach to Turkey in coming period?  

I think we have an excellent relationship with Turkey already – both as a partner and as a market – and we want to sustain that relationship, and grow its value to the nation and to us. We have great respect for what Turkey’s own aerospace industry has achieved so far, both on our own programmes such as the A400M and on competitors’ programmes. Hopefully we can use that kind of talent and drive to work together in future. And of course it is clear that Turkey has a key strategic role to play in the world and we hope that it will look to Airbus Defence and Space to satisfy its requirements.

Defence Turkey: What are current programmes that you are interested in Turkey? What will be new business areas that both side could cooperate with?

Naturally the A400M, which is entering service with the Turkish Air Force, and in which TAI is an important partner, is very significant for us. And we are paying close attention to Turkey´s evolving requirements for other classes of aircraft.

But for years we have been working  closely together with the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish industry, and one major area is self-protection of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Currently we provide the Turkish Army with our MILDS missile warning senors which are manufactured locally by Aselsan, and now,  the Turkish Air Force has expressed a need for self-protection systems as well. Based on our track record with the Army, we are convinced that we will be able to offer a solution that meets their requirements. You will also have seen that at ILA we signed a MoU to work with Roketsan to study joint possibilities in the missiles arena.

Defence Turkey: As it is well known that you gave effort on participation of Turkey in Talarion programme.  Despite Turkey did not participate the programme, you had industrial based cooperation with TAI within this programme.  Now, what do you think about Turkey’s participation to European MALE programme?

With our industrial partners Dassault and Alenia, we are right now proposing a new way forward on MALE with France, Germany and Italy. This is an urgent and important issue for us and we hope things will move quickly. Then we will have a clearer picture of the requirements and opportunities for international involvement.

Defence Turkey: Turkey’s first A400 M Transport aircraft was delivered Turkish Air Force in June 2014. What is you statement about your cooperation with Turkey in A400 M programme?

We have an excellent working relationship with Turkey and TAI on the A400M and we are happy with progress on the programme. The second aircraft for Turkey will be delivered in the coming months and it’s very satisfying to see the excitement in the TuAF about the new capability, which will be absolutely transformational after operating the C-160. We have Turkish pilots and technicians going through our International Training Centre in Seville in Spain and we are looking forward to seeing the aircraft enter operational service.

Defence Turkey: Could you please enlighten about your activities or plans with Turkish Defence industry on export to 3 rd countries? Which markets could be considered as common markets? 

I would just say that in other parts of the world we have found mutually acceptable ways to work with partners in a way that lets them address specific geographical markets in particular sectors. And we are flexible on that kind of arrangement, so I am sure we can reach workable solutions with Turkey. 

Defence Turkey: How do you assess your space activities? Could space be considered as a mutual interest area with Turkey and your company?

Well, we are Europe´s number one defence and space company, and number two in space in the world, so we are rather proud of our record and we have every intention of maintaining it. Until now we haven´t been involved with Turkey in the space sector, but as Turkish industry develops we would of course be open to discussing the possibilities. 

Defence Turkey: Cyber Warfare and Security became a one of the promising field. What are your activities in this area? What sort of business areas could create between Airbus and Turkish companies in this field?

We see this as a very interesting area, and one with extremely urgent needs. In fact, an unusual feature of this sector is that we need to develop solutions for our own internal needs as well as for the external market – so we are giving it a lot of attention. We previously made some acquisitions to build on and now we are starting to win some business based on our increasingly strong expertise. It´s very much an evolving area and we´re open to listening to anyone who has something to contribute. 

Defence Turkey: Would you like to add anything further for our readers?

Just to say that we fully recognize that Turkey is going to be an increasingly important industrial player in aerospace as well as being a key market for us. So we believe that our relationship should be a true partnership and all our activities will be in that context.