EADS Talarion MALE

EADS issues fresh ultimatum on Talarion UAV
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] must receive a renewed commitment from the governments of France, Germany and Spain by mid-year if it is to make further progress with the Talarion unmanned air vehicle project, says Stefan Zoller, chief executive of its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] unit.
The company completed a two-year risk reduction activity on the Talarion system last year, and is continuing self-funded development work leading to a preliminary design review (PDR) to be conducted "this summer". A critical design review (CDR) should follow in mid-2011, but Zoller warns that without receiving fresh support and detailed requirements from all three partner nations soon the project could founder.
"The deadline is the PDR," he says. "After that we cannot do more as a company unless they tell us what they want the system to look like. It is a technical deadline."

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Negotiations are being held with the governments, Zoller says, "to see how we can go ahead, perhaps with another phase of pre-financing from our perspective until we get a firm contract". EADS is willing to continue funding the effort into next year, he says, so long as it "can still be confident as an industry that this programme may go ahead."
Europe's previous Euromale programme - based on an EADS development of Israel Aerospace Industries' Heron UAV - collapsed after years of slow progress when the same three participating nations changed their operational requirements.
Zoller warns that it cannot afford for such an event to be repeated with Talarion, a product that he describes as "decisive for the future of the military aircraft business and technology in Europe".
"We now have the Talarion offer on the table, and expect the nations to sooner or later support this three-nation approach," he says. "There is no European alternative." Previously described by EADS as interested in participating, Turkey is now "knocking at the door", Zoller says.
EADS expects development work on the Talarion to total around €1.5 billion ($2 billion), with production of a proposed 15 operational systems to double the programme's value to around €3 billion. Each system will comprise three air vehicles and related ground control station and communications equipment, and first deliveries could take place in 2016, Zoller says.
To be capable of flying faster than 300kt (555km/h) to an altitude above 50,000ft (15,200m), the Talarion UAV will have a maximum take-off weight of around 7t, including a 1.8t payload, says EADS. The design is 12m long and has a 28m wing span.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Investment in UAVs and related technologies by EADS has already exceeded €500 million, and Zoller says bridging the gap between the PDR and CDR requires "substantial money". "We have a marching army," he adds.
EADS Defence & Security posted revenues of €5.4 billion and secured orders worth almost €8 billion in 2009, while delivering an 8.4% return on sales. "We are the most profitable division of EADS," says Zoller. "All our programmes are on track: we deliver on what we promise."

BERLIN (Dow Jones)--Le gouvernement allemand prendra une décision concernant le financement du projet de drone européen Talarion de European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV une fois que son projet de budget 2011 aura été préparé, a déclaré jeudi un porte-parole du ministère de la Défense.

"Nous ne pourrons décider de l'éventuelle réalisation du projet Talarion qu'une fois qu'un premier examen du financement aura eu lieu et qu'une fois que nous aurons décidé des priorités", a déclaré le porte-parole.
"Cela adviendra lorsque nous établirons le budget 2011 dans le courant de l'année."

Le projet de budget sera présenté au gouvernement fédéral le 7 juillet et le Bundestag pourra alors proposer des amendements au second semestre.
Le gouvernement entend mettre en oeuvre 11,2 milliards d'euros de mesures d'austérité en 2011, et le ministère de la Défense doit restreindre ses dépenses dans le cadre des efforts de réduction du déficit.

Un article publié jeudi matin dans le quotidien espagnol Cinco Dias rapportait qu'[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] avait suspendu le projet Talarion en raison d'un manque de financements de la part de la France et de l'Allemagne.

-Beate Preuschoff et Andrea Thomas; Dow Jones Newswires

Dow Jones Newswires

"Pour aller plus avant dans le développement technique, il nous faut la coopération des clients.

Nous devons savoir si ce projet est souhaité comme solution européenne", a ajouté le dirigeant...

Dow Jones Newswires

EADS losing patience over Talarion

model of its Talarion unmanned air vehicle is suspended over its hall 4 exhibit. But [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] is not happy hanging around for its home nations to commit to what it calls the "next generation" of unmanned surveillance aircraft.
The European company is getting increasingly frustrated with the failure of France, Germany, Spain, and possibly the UK, to throw their support behind the project after EADS unveiled the 28m (91.8ft) wing span aircraft at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] last year.
Speaking at an EADS media seminar in London on the eve of Farnborough, Stefan Zoller, chief executive of the company's Defence and Security division, said work on the development would continue for the next few months at least. "We are expecting governments to come up with their priorities in autumn," he said.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Zoller warned earlier this year that a preliminary design review on the Talarion could be halted unless the programme's potential buyers firmed up their requirements by this summer.
He urged would-be customers to prioritise Talarion to secure Europe's future in unmanned technology. "We need the commitment of the nations to engage in the next generation of unmanned aircraft," he said.
He also cast doubt on whether European countries should focus on unmanned combat air vehicle technology demonstrators to the detriment of a more basic surveillance system, either jointly or on their own. France's Dassault is leading the Neuron UCAV project, while earlier this month the UK's BAE Systems unveiled its Taranis UCAV concept. EADS has its own UCAV demonstrator, the Barracuda.
However Zoller stressed: "The Talarion is not a demonstrator. It is about developing a full industrialised product. Let's do first things first. If countries cannot manage to have the basic technology, you can forget about UCAVs."
Powered by two jet engines and to fly at altitudes up to 50,000ft, the Talarion has been designed to meet Europe's future requirements for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The company expects the development and production of 15 systems to cost up to €3 billion ($3.5 billion).

EADS interrompra le développement du programme de drone Talarion, évalué à trois milliards de dollars, si les Etats ne s'engagent pas à passer des commandes, a déclaré Stefan Zoller, le directeur général de la division Défense et Sécurité du groupe.

"Nous ne poursuivrons le développement que s'il y a un engagement d'achat", a-t-il dit lundi soir.

Ses propos étaient sous embargo jusqu'à mardi.

Le groupe avait déclaré le mois dernier qu'il était prêt à continuer d'investir dans le projet jusqu'à la fin de l'année, alors que l'Allemagne, la France et l'Espagne ont engagé une revue de leurs projets en matière de défense.

Stefan Zoller a ajouté que la division Défense d'EADS devait se développer dans les pays émergents pour compenser la lenteur de la croissance en Europe.

Il a expliqué que la consolidation du secteur en Europe ne générait que de faibles synergies.