Australia, Canada and Italy have emerged as the most likely international candidates to join the development effort for the U.S. Navy's Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program, officials said Nov. 4.

Those three nations are the leading contenders because they have expressed the most interest among the 10 nations that were asked to consider taking part in MMA, said Capt. Steven Eastburg, the Navy's program manager for maritime surveillance aircraft. Germany, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Spain also were approached but have shown less enthusiasm.

The Navy plans to begin formal negotiations with potential international partners in early 2005 and conclude the talks by late spring or early summer. International participation needs to be lined up before the September 2005 preliminary design review (PDR), when the basic features of the aircraft will be set, Eastburg said during a press briefing on MMA.

Each possible partner will be asked to contribute about $300 million to the development program, although Eastburg acknowledged that "that would be negotiated." In June, the Navy awarded a $3.89 billion contract to the Boeing Co. to be the industry leader for MMA's six-year system development and demonstration (SDD) phase (DAILY, June 15).

Eastburg said that international partners would be involved in the aircraft's development on a day-to-day basis. There would be opportunities for companies in those countries to compete for MMA contracts, but the Navy would not promise foreign industry a certain share of the work.

"We are not guaranteeing any degree of industrial participation in these countries, and they all understand that," he said.

Planned buy flexible

The Navy plans to buy 108 MMAs, but that assumes the service also will buy 50 Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial vehicles. Eastburg said the Navy could increase its MMA procurement if BAMS is cut or killed. The Navy has yet to release a request for proposals for BAMS, despite saying it would do so several months ago.

Boeing believes there are opportunities to sell 100 to 150 MMAs abroad. A total of 15 foreign countries now fly about 225 P-3s, the maritime patrol aircraft that MMA is designed to replace. Australia and Canada both operate P-3s, while Italy does not.

The Navy plans to begin fielding MMA in fiscal 2013, but Boeing estimates it can begin delivering the aircraft a year early. The program has been planning to hold the PDR in the second or third quarter of FY '06 (DAILY, Oct. 14), but Boeing believes the review can be moved up to September 2005.

MMA, which will use a modified 737-800ERX jet, is designed to perform anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare and reconnaissance missions.