As skies between the New World and 'Old Europe' have darkened,
so the calls to gather up and protect Europe's indigenous defense
technology have grown louder. Always hampered by in-fighting and
under-funding, it is clear to those on this side of the Atlantic
that there must be a speedy resolution of these past problems and
the acceleration of key R&D and production efforts. Such work
is almost universally a collaborative effort. Much of it has always
proceeded with an eye on U.S. participation of one kind or another.
While that participation is certainly not precluded, the stormy
political climate has convinced many that only a stronger Europe
can stand up and be counted. Some fear a split between allies, while
others sigh "well it's about time." Here, Show News takes
a brief look at some of the major European defense aerospace programs,
and what they represent.
Eurofighter Typhoon The four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon program is a cornerstone
of Europe's high-tech defense aerospace capabilities. Despite
the long delays and bad press that have swirled around it, the
Eurofighter will become an operational reality sooner rather than
later. By the end of the decade hundreds of Eurofighters will
be the de facto front-line for the air forces of Germany,
Italy, Spain and the UK. More orders are in the offing from Austria,
Greece and elsewhere. The Eurofighter will also be the platform
for whatever future combat capabilities those nations choose to
take into the 2020 timeframe. As such, it the primary program
that the wider European industry can-and must-rely on to sustain
a broad-base of advanced, independent technology in the face of
U.S. dominance.
Gripen Though the idea may be laughed at, the Saab-BAE Systems Gripen
still has the opportunity to become a 'European JSF.' In terms
of cost, technology and combat effectiveness the Gripen offers
a comparable (and sometimes higher) level of capability than that
projected for the JSF-and without any of the industrial and political
strong-arming that has become the foundation of the JSF business
model. Already a next-generation aircraft, the Gripen is still
handicapped by its lack of visibility on the international scene,
and insufficient political muscle to back up its sales pitches.
It remains to be seen if the program can recover momentum from
some of its recent high-profile sales setbacks, but there is no
doubt that the Gripen team can make a compelling case for their
aircraft against anything the market has to offer over the next
10 or 15 years.
A400M The approval, finally, for the pan-European Airbus A400M military
airlifter carries the same weight of importance as the go-ahead
for the Airbus A380 program in terms of the Airbus company, European
capabilities and the international military scene. The A400M will
fill a yawning gap in NATO's European capability shortfall and
will also go out into the marketplace as the only affordable,
truly next-generation airlifter solution for a world hungry for
mobility. The A400M will gives its users strategic airlift for
a tactical price, along with a critical air-to-air refueling capability
that it built into the baseline design.
Tiger The Eurocopter Tiger program has firmly thrown off the chains
that tied it down for so many years. The first aircraft are on
course to enter service with their French and German lead customers
within the next few weeks. The Tiger faces serious competition
from the Boeing Apache and Longbow Apache, but the European helicopter
does have the new-technology credentials that will see it operational
and evolving long after the last Apache has rolled off the line.
Eurocopter has reaffirmed its significant export win for 24 aircraft
in Australia and is hopeful of an imminent good result in Spain's
long-running combat helicopter competition. The Tiger has been
let down by the failure of its TRIGAT missile system, but this
has been softened by the arrival of alternative weapons systems,
and the general lessening in emphasis on the pure anti-armor role.
NH 90 The NH 90 helicopter is another of Europe's defense programs
better known for its delays than its progress. This assessment
hides what is becoming a hugely successful program for its manufacturer,
NH Industries (a teaming of Eurocopter, Agusta and Fokker). The
NH 90 stands at the cutting edge of next-generation medium-lift
military helicopter technology. In its land-based and shipborne
variants the NH 90 has logged 377 orders and options from eight
customers. Along with the larger EH101, the NH 90 will become
the backbone of Europe's future military combat support helicopter
fleet. However, its smaller size (and price) makes the NH 90 more
attractive to a wider range of customers. Significantly, when
the decisions were announced in late 2001 in the highly prized
Nordic Helicopter requirement, three of the four nations opted
for the NH 90.
EH101 Produced under the aegis of EH Industries (owned by the merged
AgustaWestland) the EH101 is Europe's only medium/heavy-lift helicopter
program. There is currently no other in-service helicopter that
can match the EH101's proven range of capabilities. Though not
in the same class as the Boeing Chinook, the EH101 undertakes
a range of broader missions including battlefield transport, anti-submarine
warfare and search-and-rescue. The program was driven by primary
customers in the UK and Italy, and the EH101 has gone on to win
other important orders in Canada, Denmark, Portugal and Japan.
As Europe's primary large helicopter program the EH101 is the
jumping-off point for any further development of larger rotorcraft
and studies have already been conducted into a compound helicopter
derivative to meet a UK carrier-based AEW requirement. AgustaWestland
has now signed up the much larger US101 team, with Lockheed Martin
and Bell Helicopter, to enhance and build the aircraft in the
United States for U.S. customers.
Meteor While several other countries have undertaken research with
high-speed ramjet weapons, the Meteor is still the only program
with a clear requirement on the table and paying customers behind
it-at least in the unclassified world. After a delay of over two
years the Meteor long-range ramjet-powered air-to-air missile
has become a fully-funded reality. Program leader MBDA Missile
Systems, together with its key partner Saab Bofors Dynamics, is
moving towards a first air-launched test in 2005 and an operational
debut by the end of the decade. If it lives up to its promises,
the Meteor will be a leap-ahead capability in air warfare. The
basic ramjet-powered airframe will also be developed into a family
of other high-speed air-launched and ground-launched missile systems
from MBDA-and perhaps in partnership with U.S. industry.
Storm Shadow/SCALP The British Storm Shadow and French SCALP EG air-launched
cruise missiles are based on a common design by MBDA Missile Systems.
The weapon delivers a combination of long-range, high-accuracy
and extreme destructive power that is unmatched in any equivalent
in-service system. The arrival into service of the Storm Shadow/SCALP
represents a major step forward in warfighting capability for
Europe's air forces. A highly sophisticated imaging seeker with
target recognition functions is tied to the missile's BROACH warhead,
specifically designed to attack buried and hardened targets. The
Storm Shadow had its combat debut on RAF Tornado GR.Mk 4s deployed
for combat over Iraq in Operation Telic-before the missile had
been officially accepted into service. About 30 Storm Shadows
were fired against various targets with crews reportedly extremely
impressed at the system's effectiveness. In France, the SCALP
EG will enter service on the Mirage 2000D later this year. The
Storm Shadow has been sold to Italy, while the SCALP EG has been
sold to Greece, and also exported to the UAE as the tailor-made
Black Shaheen cruise missile. The Storm Shadow will go on to equip
the Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale in future service. MBDA is
now developing a ship-launched version of the SCALP/Storm Shadow,
dubbed the 'SCALP Navale'. MBDA is also conducting a UK-backed
study into equipping the Airbus A400M airlifter with Storm Shadows
as a standoff penetration weapons platform.
Taurus KEPD 350 After the Storm Shadow/SCALP family, the Taurus KEPD 350 standoff
weapon is Europe's 'other' cruise missile program. Developed jointly
by Germany's EADS-LFK and Sweden's Saab Bofors Dynamics (as the
Taurus Systems partnership) the KEPD 350 is smaller and lighter
than the Storm Shadow/SCALP but has the same level of advanced
capability, albeit with less range. The KEPD 350 boasts a very
advanced MEPHISTO hardened target penetrator warhead, which is
judged by some observers to be without peer in its class. The
KEPD 350 is earmarked to equip Germany's Eurofighters and Sweden's
Gripens, and it has also been trialled on other types including
the F/A-18. The German government has ordered the missile into
full production and a Swedish order is expected next year.
ASTER The ASTER family of surface-to-air missiles is being developed
by MBDA to meet a range of future needs, including missile defense.
The ASTER is a vertically-launched system that combines an active
seeker with very high speed and a vectored thrust control method
(known as the 'pif-paf'). The result is an anti-missile missile
with a hit-to-kill capability. The ASTER can be used against high-flying
and sea-skimming targets, making it a uniquely versatile system.
It is a modular system that can be fitted with a range of boosters
to extend the engagement envelope. The ASTER 15 SAAM (Surface-to-Air
Anti-Missile) is the baseline naval air defense system. The larger
ASTER 30 SAMP/T (ground-to-air medium range/land) is the land-based
counter-air and anti-missile variant. The ASTER 15/30 PAAMs (Principal
Anti-Air Missile System) is the wide-area naval task force defense
version. Variants of the ASTER will provide force protection for
new ships in the British, French and Italian navies. It has also
been exported to Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the greatest significance
of the ASTER system lies in its ability to be further developed
for a European ballistic missile defense.
ASRAAM Developed by MBDA Missile Systems from a UK requirement, the
Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) is Europe's only
in-service advanced agile dogfight missile-and also one of the
most technically sophisticated designs in this hard-fought market
sector. The ASRAAM will equip RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, but is
already operational on upgraded Tornado F.Mk 3s and on Australia's
upgraded Hornet F/A-18As. ASRAAM designers pioneered the development
of a clean airframe that uses missile body lift and vectored controls
for super-maneuverability. This design experience has had a direct
effect on MBDA's Meteor. The ASRAAM's low-drag shape also gives
it a significant beyond-visual-range reach, backed up by the all-important
lock-on after launch (LOAL) capability of its seeker and guidance
system. It is this LOAL capability that makes the ASRAAM the only
missile currently available that can meet the JSF's internal carriage
requirements.
Galileo Galileo is Europe's own global positioning satellite (GPS)
system. It's importance cannot be overstated for a future which
will become utterly reliant on GPS navigation, targeting and data
for every aspect of military and commercial life. Today, that
GPS capability is under the ultimate control of the U.S. military
and it is inconceivable that non-U.S. users could continue to
rely on such an arrangement forever. After all the usual disputes
over money and workshare the Galileo partners of Germany, Italy,
France, the UK, Spain and Belgium have just agreed on a 1.1 billion
euro demonstration and validation contract with the European Space
Agency. The onus is now on the Galileo team to begin using its
allotted frequency bands before 2006, beyond which there is a
danger of forfeiting them.
