EADS is looking for a suitable US partner to possibly offer the A400M military transport aircraft to the Pentagon.

EADS is looking for a suitable US partner to possibly offer the A400M military transport aircraft to the Pentagon. Aviation Week reports that executives from EADS North America have held discussions with both Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin about assembling the A400M in the US if it can grab a contract from the DoD. According to John Young, director of tanker programmes at EADS North America, there is a “huge opportunity” for the transport aircraft in the US defence market to replace up to 450 ageing C-130s. One industry executive said discussions with Northrop Grumman have been “casual”. Declining to confirm the talks with potential partners, EADS said in a statement: “The A400M will meet the US military’s critical intra-theatre airlift requirements. EADS North America has successfully partnered with leading US defence companies in the KC-45 tanker and UH-72A light-utility helicopter programmes”. The US work share on the A400M currently amounts to 1-2% of the value of the programme. But the four core partners -namely Rolls-Royce, Snecma, MTU and ITP- “would increase US content”, says Nick Durham, president of the Europrop International consortium. Still, says Aviation Week, penetration into the US market could be impacted by schedule delays affecting the A400M programme. Aviation Week (21/07)