MALE UAV programme to be opened up

EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois has urged the British and French governments to open up plans for a proposed MALE Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) to include EADS and other European partners. By opening up the programme, EADS hopes to avoid a repetition of the Eurofighter Typhoon versus Rafale combat aircrafts clash, which divided European industry into a battle for foreign sales last year. French company Dassault Aviation, was unable to sell the Rafale outside of its own country whilst the Eurofighter Typhoon designed by a consortium of three companies; EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE, sold sales in 6 countries. Gallois told reporters that a top priority for EADS is to preserve research and development capabilities by pooling resources in the face of defence cuts this year.

The SDA recently hosted a debate on pooling and sharing at its annual SecDef conference, click here to view the report.