A consortium of major European
aerospace companies - Alenia Aermacchi, Airbus Defence and
Space, Dassault Aviation - on Monday said they had made a formal
proposal for developing a European unmanned aircraft system to
the defence ministers of Italy, France and Germany.
The proposal comes after the companies' joint call for the
development of a European drone at last year's Paris Airshow,
and after several European nations had announced a need for
unmanned aerial systems, a joint statement by the three
companies said.
The statement added that the EU Defence Summit in December
2013 alluded to an urgent need.
"The offer proposes a Definition Phase which has been
prepared by joint development teams" of the companies, the
statement continued, and is "backed by an industrial agreement
on workshare and a cooperative agreement".
"Now is the time to drive technology forward and secure
Europe's capability in building the next generation of military
air systems as well as maintain talent and expertise in our
industry," said Giuseppe Giordo, chief executive of Alenia
Aermacchi, a subsidiary of the Italian State-controlled defence
and transport conglomerate Finmeccanica.
Airbus Defence and Space, a division of the multinational
EADS Group, is Europe's largest defence and space company.
Dassault Aviation is based in France.
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