Sikorsky CH-53G - c/n
V65-106 - s/n 85+08
- German Army MTHR-15 -
Berlin SXF, Germany - 28 May 2008 - b-domke.de
German military kicks off heavy lift
helicopter competition: source
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s military has approved plans
to buy 45 to 60 new heavy-lift helicopters, kicking off a competition between
the two largest U.S. weapons makers for the contract worth nearly 4 billion
euros ($4.72 billion), a military source said on Friday.
Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N)
will bid with its massive CH-53K helicopter, while Boeing Co (BA.N)
will seek to sell its smaller twin-rotor CH-47.
General Volker Wieker, chief of staff of the German
Bundeswehr, signed the document that begins the contract bidding process on
Thursday, the source told Reuters. “No decision has been made on a preferred
model,” the source added.
The defense ministry expects to issue a request for
information in the second half of 2018 after completing a fleet capability
study, with a contract award seen in mid-2020.
Initial deliveries would begin in 2023, replacing
Germany’s existing fleet of CH-53G aircraft, the source said.
Wieker’s decision calls for a combined contract to
include both manufacturing and maintenance, defying a call by Airbus (AIR.PA)
and other German firms that the ministry split the contract into two segments.
The terms of the procurement would require that
maintenance was supported in Germany but would not stipulate an award to a
German company, the source said.
Lockheed said it had not been officially notified, but
would look forward to working with the German military.
Nathalie Previte, vice president of international
business development for Lockheed’s Sikorsky helicopter unit, said the company
planned to involve “German industry to the maximum extent possible around the
life of the program.”
No comment was immediately available from Boeing or
Airbus.
PARTNERSHIPS
Both Boeing and Lockheed already work closely with German
industry and have said they would seek to form partnerships to build and
maintain a future German helicopter.
Some military sources had expected the competition to
begin only after a new German government was in place. But Wieker decided to
press ahead amid signs it could take months until Chancellor Angela Merkel
forms a new ruling coalition.
The ministry has proposed spending 3.84 billion euros on
the program from 2018 to 2029, although it must still be approved by
parliament.
Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook, already used by eight other NATO
countries, will compete against Lockheed’s Sikorsky CH-53K, a redesigned
version of the CH-53G that Germany now flies and which the U.S. Marine Corps
will start using in combat in 2019. Israel is also considering buying 20 of the
Lockheed aircraft.
The CH-53K will make its international debut at the
Berlin air show next April.
Two Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters were brought to a
conference in Germany in July, but the Lockheed aircraft, just entering
production for the U.S. Marine Corps, was not on site.
German military officials would now study the
capabilities of the two helicopter models, comparing their effectiveness in
different scenarios, the source said. Some officials favor the CH-47 which they
say is combat-proven and cheaper, but others say the larger CH-53K would allow
growth in future missions.
The U.S. Marine Corps has said the average cost of the
huge aircraft will be around $88 million per aircraft. The cost could drop if
Germany, Israel and Japan all bought them.
Experts say it would cost less for Germany to buy the
Chinook, but that helicopter will require several upgrades in coming years that
could add costs. It also carries less, so it takes more flights to accomplish
the same mission.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Adrian Croft and
Edmund Blair
Original post: reuters.com
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