Vneshekonombank (VEB) could swap the shares it owns in EADS for a stake in the Kremlin’s new aerospace holding this autumn.

Russian state-owned bank Vneshekonombank (VEB) could swap the shares it owns in EADS for a stake in the Kremlin’s new aerospace holding this autumn. At the end of last year,

EADS is still interested in a stake in Russian aviation holding UAC

EADS is still interested in a stake in Russian aviation holding UAC. Louis Gallois reaffirmed yesterday that EADS was more than ever willing to participate in the reconstruction of the Russian aerospace

EADS has abandoned plans to convert the 10% stake it owns in fighter jet manufacturer Irkut into shares in Russian state holding UAC

EADS has abandoned plans to convert the 10% stake it owns in fighter jet manufacturer Irkut into shares in Russian state holding UAC, reported Russian daily Vedomosti.

A State Court in Munich announced it convicted a German engineer of selling information to a Russian intelligence agency.

A State Court in Munich announced it convicted a German engineer who worked for Eurocopter of selling information to a Russian intelligence agency. The 44-year-old man,

Boeing confirmed yesterday that the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner would take place in the fourth quarter of 2008

Boeing confirmed yesterday that the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner would take place in the fourth quarter of 2008. Dmitry Krol, director of communications for Boeing in Russia and the CIS, said first deliveries of the plane were scheduled for the third quarter of 2009, in line with the revised schedule for the programme announced in April. Mr Krol was attending the St Petersburg Economic Forum. Russia is Boeing’s largest engineering solutions provider, revealed Sergei Kravchenko, CEO of the group’s regional division. Reuters (09/06), Negocio

A German engineer admitted at his espionage trial yesterday that he had passed information from Eurocopter

A German engineer admitted at his espionage trial yesterday that he had passed information from Eurocopter to the Russian secret service between 2004 and 2006.

Vladimir Putin revives the question of a Russian stake in EADS.

Mr Putin came to Paris yesterday as the new Russian Prime Minister. He met his French counterpart, Francois Fillon, to discuss the French-Russian bilateral relationship and cooperation perspectives.

The Sukhoi-built SuperJet completed its maiden flight yesterday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The regional jet flew more than an hour and reached an altitude of 1,200 metres, said the Russian manufacturer in a statement. In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan commented: “This is a big success for Sukhoi. Despite many difficulties, we achieved our goal”. The 75- to 95-seat SuperJet made its first flight five months later than scheduled.

German prosecutors said last week that they had charged a 44-year-old native of Bavaria

with passing sensitive technology information to Russia. A member of the Austrian Parliament revealed the accused was Werner Greipl, a former employee of Eurocopter. The manufacturer dismissed the suggestion that it was involved in a spy case. Spokeswoman Christina Gotzhein said from Ottobrunn that Mr Greipl had worked as an engineer for the group before 2000 and that “Eurocopter has not been involved in this case so far”. Moscow Times (17/04)

EADS share suffers “scandalous under-evaluation”.

The aerospace group’s share, indeed, did not react to the announcement that Airbus had won nearly 400 net aircraft orders in the first quarter of 2008. Airbus sells plenty more aircraft than its rival Boeing, points out the weekly. Besides, Airbus has a dynamic aircraft development policy: after launching the A330 cargo version last year, it is currently defining a cargo variant of its A320 in cooperation with Russian partners. Still, the market remains cautious about EADS, following leaks of the AMF report that warn of a fall of Airbus’s future profitability, allegedly written down in the group’s books as soon as June 2005. L’Hebdo-Bourse Plus (11/04)

Airbus plans to launch a demonstrator for an A320-based freighter

model in cooperation with Russian companies UAC and Irkut in 2011. The project financing and the new structure of the joint venture with the Russian partners should be finalised “by the end of May”, said Andreas Sperl, chief executive of the Dresden-based Elbe Flugzeugwerke facility, which will partly manufacture the new plane. He added that the freighter has already raised interest from one potential customer, who would be ready to order 30 units. AFP (07/04), Cinco Dias

Alexei Fiodorov, the boss of Russian public holding UAC,

stated that his group wouldacquire VEB’s 15% stake in EADS by the second half of the year. The transaction wouldtake the form of a stake swap, as VEB might receive shares of leasing company IliouchineFinance.
AFP (24/03)

The landscape of regional aviation is getting more complex,

with the arrival of newcompetitors from Japan, China or Russia. The three established players –Bombardier,Embraer and ATR- see their order books grow and market opportunities develop in the US,Europe and, above all, Asia-Pacific. The industry estimates that 10 % of global demand forregional aircraft will come from China within 20 years. This is why Chinese manufacturer AvicI is pushing into this segment, with its ARJ 21, in an effort to fulfil the country’s needs itself.Russia, with its SuperJet 100, and more recently Japan, with its MRJ, are pursuing the samestrategy.
Air & Cosmos

US Navy retired admiral James Lyons writes that

the ties between EADS and Russia are troubling in the context of the tankercontract award. James Lyons recalls that the Russian government acquired a 5 % stake inEADS in 2006 through state-controlled bank VTB. Later, Kremlin officials asserted that theywould seek a role in the company’s management and that the government intended to lift itsholding to up to 20 % of the group’s capital. The Moscow-EADS relation could give Russiaaccess to sensitive Western technology developed or acquired by EADS, writes J. Lyons.Hence, the Pentagon and congressional investigators might want to figure out theimplications of Russia’s current and future role in EADS and the potential impact of theKremlin on EADS’s ability to fulfil its contractual commitments, he concludes.
The WashingtonTimes (13/03)