The Franco-German company Airbus has been awarded a major defence contract by the French government. Its main components are eight H 225M helicopters for the French Air Force, two H 145s for the Sécurité Civile and ten H 160s for the gendarmerie. The navy can expect another prototype of the VSR 700. This Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is currently being developed jointly with Naval Group and the Marine Nationale.
This order is officially part of the plan adopted by France in 2020 to stimulate the national aviation industry. French companies, including Safran and Thales, are contributing significant parts of the rotorcraft ordered.
The VSR 700 is an unmanned drone for maritime use. It is being developed as part of the Système de drone aérien de la Marine (SDAM) programme. It is based on the Cabri G2 from Hélicoptères Guimbal and has a maximum take-off weight of 500 to 1000 kilos. This means that the drone can carry several regular sensors for maritime use and remain in the air for long periods of time. In future, it will be available on naval vessels alongside manned helicopters. The VSR 700 had its maiden flight last year.
Airbus is the largest aerospace company in Europe. Its defence division is second only to the British BAE Systems on the continent. Group turnover in 2020 totalled around 50 billion euros. Airbus is 11 per cent owned by the French state-owned holding company Sogepa and 10.9 per cent by the German company Gesellschaft zur Beteiligungsverwaltung (GZBV), a subsidiary of KfW and Galintis GmbH & Co. KG.
Text: mb; Photo: Airbus
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The Bundeswehr has been criminally reduced and today we can no longer keep up with rearmament.
reintroduce compulsory military service to teach today's undisciplined youth responsibility and a sense of duty.
How should the small bunch of BW defend Germany?
And in Germany, thanks to the Greens and Merkel/von der Leyen/AKK, the defence industry continues to go down the drain. Where is the first German amphibious assault ship?
We should do the same with our German defence industry!!!!