Airbus pitches new trainer jet for Spain, but with eyes for Europe
STUTTGART, Germany – Airbus is pitching a new jet
trainer package for the Spanish air force that industry executives hope could
one day help school pilots across Europe on next-generation
aircraft.
The
Airbus Future Jet
Trainer, or AFJT, would replace Spain’s
fleets of Northrop F-5M and CASA C-101 Aviojet aircraft around 2027 or 2028,
Airbus officials told Defense News. While the concept has been in the works for
several years, the company first revealed the official specifications late last
week to Spanish media outlets.
The
company envisions the project as a multi-role, integrated trainer system, with
room for growth as a potential light-attack or aggressor aircraft. Among its
features is a live-virtual-constructive (LVC) training environment, and
compatibility with ground-based training systems.
Abel
Nin, head of the AFJT program at Airbus, told Defense News the aircraft is
designed with fighter characteristics of high maneuverability and speed, and the
ability to emulate aircraft including the Eurofighter Typhoon and F/A-18 Hornet
aircraft, as well as future systems. If selected, the AFJT plane could see its
first flight around 2025, Nin said.
Raúl
Tena, Airbus' sales manager for combat aircraft, emphasized that the aircraft
and associated training systems are being built with the Spanish air force’s
requirements and timeline “as the starting point.”
“From
there, we believe that this aircraft should not only serve Spain, but should
also serve Europe,” he said, citing France and Finland as potential future
customers.
Spain’s
government has not yet allocated any funding toward a new trainer system, Airbus
said. A budget is expected to be revealed by the end of 2020 or early 2021. The
Spanish Ministry of Defense last year committed to buying 24 Pilatus PC-21
trainer jets, to begin replacing its 1980s-era C-101 aircraft.
Airbus
serves as the AFJT lead contractor in charge of design, assembly and
integration. Other suppliers include: Indra for flight simulations and systems;
Tecnobit for communications and machine-pilot interface systems; ITP Aero — the
Spanish subsidiary of Rolls-Royce — supplying the engine; GMV providing software
and flight systems; and Compañía Española de Sistemas Aeronáuticos S.A. (CESA)
providing the landing gear and actuators.
“We are
launching [this program] with all of industry, trying to capture all of their
inputs in a single contract,” Nin said. “The ambition is there” to have a fully
Spanish industry team, he added.
Airbus
anticipates that there are between 500 to 800 trainer aircraft around the globe
to be replaced within the next decade. “We cannot deny that there is a good
opportunity” to capture part of that market, Tena said.
Since
Spain has signed on as a partner in the Franco-German-led Future Combat Air
System program to build Europe’s next-generation fighter jet, Airbus also sees
an opportunity for the AFJT to be that program’s trainer. However, no final
decisions have been made as to which country will build the FCAS trainer yet,
Nin said.
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