Airbus Defense & Space Revisiting A320 MPA, Unfazed By New
Competition
Chen Chuanren February
21, 2024
Credit:
Airbus Defense & Space
SINGAPORE—Airbus
Defense & Space is revisiting the design and development of a maritime
patrol aircraft (MPA) based on the commercial A320 single-aisle airliner,
following increased interest from both France and other customers in the
Asia-Pacific region.
“We
have been hearing from customers that they want a larger MPA.” Airbus Defense
& Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn tells Aviation Week. Airbus’ only MPA platform
is the C925 MPA.
“It
was always the question of how much development effort for how much volume,” he
adds. “You need to have the right combination, and then it’s worth it with the
current increase in demand.”
The
A320 MPA concept was floated as early as 2018 but went quiet until 2023 when
France awarded a contract to Dassault and Airbus to study a next-generation
MPA.
This
development also comes at a time when the Boeing P-8 Poseidon
is nearing the end of production, leaving the market with no large, jet-powered
MPA except the Embraer alternative that is still under development.
Despite
establishing a beachhead in the Asian transport aircraft market, Schoellhorn
remains unfazed on Embraer’s recent success in South Korea and Europe. Embraer
edged out Airbus and Lockheed on a deal with South Korea for three KC-390s.
“Sometimes
you mostly win and sometimes you lose,” Schoellhorn says. “The South Korean
deal was not a disaster. It was for a small batch of aircraft with a relatively
high ask in terms of offset and industrialization.”
Airbus’
A400M is expected to face the KC-390 in the Indian Air Force medium transport
aircraft requirement, but Schoellhorn said the requirements of the program are
still not yet clearly defined. He stressed that Airbus has been a supporter of
the Made in India policy, proven with the local assembly of C295s by Tata
Advanced Sytems.
Schoellhorn
also revealed that the company is studying setting up a defense MRO center in
Asia to keep aircraft maintenance close to local customers.
“Having
a local MRO center will definitely change the situation for customers to have
to fly to Spain for check,” he says. “We will have a much more capable local or
regional MRO capability to serve our customers better.”
Indonesia’s
PT Dirgantara Indonesia is currently the only aircraft parts manufacturer for
the C235, but the company is not working with Airbus to ramp up its production
capability and quality to be at the “level Airbus needed,” Schoellhorn adds.
“We
need the right level of skills of the individuals, management skills, spare
parts management,” he says. “There’s lots of things that are needed to come up
with a functioning MRO organization. I’m not saying it’s not there, it’s just
not maybe at the level that is needed for a supply chain that is so far from
our hub.”
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