Embraer announced today the opening of an office in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The main objective is to foster cooperation in Hungary, which could result in future developments under new partnerships. The office also creates an administrative hub for projects development in Central and Eastern Europe.
This initiative is part of Embraer’s strategy to establish new partnerships in select markets. Some of the key aspects of this future cooperation are the collaborative efforts with new partners, long-term projects, and investment in reliable dual-use technology.
The office will employ Hungarian personnel, administrative and engineering staff that will work in close cooperation with Embraer’s teams in Brazil.
Air Malta has launched its second ‘lifeline schedule’, following the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic all over Europe. The schedule, intended to ensure essential passenger and cargo connectivity to and from the Maltese Islands to key airports, will commence on Wednesday 27th January.
For now, the lifeline schedule is being introduced until the end of February, however, following evaluations in the coming weeks on developments throughout Europe, Air Malta will consider whether to extend it further.
The National Airline has been at the forefront in efforts to ensure essential passenger connectivity to selected major European cities as well as a continuous connectivity for cargo, mail and essential medical supplies including the COVID-19 vaccine and other resources that are critical to the Islands’ supply chain. It is intended to guarantee peace of mind and stability for the Islands during these uncertain and testing times.
Air Malta will be operating 19 weekly return flights to eight destinations: Amsterdam, Brussels, Catania, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Rome and Zurich with the below schedule:
The Airline will continue making changes to its flight schedule to maximize capacity whilst ensuring connectivity.
The Norwegian Armed Forces has signed a framework agreement with Saab for the Carl-Gustaf M4. Saab has received an initial order for Carl-Gustaf M4 weapons with deliveries in 2021.
The recently signed framework agreement allows the Norwegian customer to place orders for Carl-Gustaf M4, associated equipment and training systems during a 7-year period.
The Norwegian Armed Forces has been a user of the Carl-Gustaf M2 system since early 1970’s. Today the M2 and the M3 versions are used within the Norwegian Armed Forces.
“We welcome the latest user to the Carl-Gustaf M4. It’s a great success to continue to support the Norwegian Armed Forces, this time with our future ready Carl-Gustaf M4”, says Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.
Carl-Gustaf M4 is the latest version of the portable, shoulder-launched, multi-role weapon system. It gives users a wide range of engagement options and allows troops to remain agile and effective in any scenario. It builds on the system’s formidable capabilities, offering a higher degree of accuracy, lighter construction and compatibility with future innovations. The M4 is also compatible with intelligent sighting systems and future technology developments, such as programmable ammunition. Since the launch in 2014, Saab has signed contracts with fourteen different nations for Carl-Gustaf M4.
Virgin Australia’s share price dipped below 10 cents on Monday – days after credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded its outlook to negative.
The drop represents an enormous fall from a high of $2.19 in February 2007. Virgin played down the developments, claiming any speculation of the future of the business was “untrue and misleading”.
Last week, Australian Aviation reported that the wider group announced a $97 million half-year loss and its intention to cut its Tigerair fleet.
EmbraerX, Embraer’s disruptive business subsidiary, announces its expansion into the commercial air cargo market, via a collaboration agreement with Elroy Air, at CES 2020. This collaboration will allow the companies to accelerate the unmanned air cargo market worldwide, leveraging Embraer’s 50 years of industry experience with Elroy Air’s bold new developments in autonomous aircraft systems.
“In order to stay the course of creating solutions that benefit humanity at large, we believe the cargo market is prime for an autonomous aircraft,” said Antonio Campello, President & CEO, EmbraerX. “Booming eCommerce is forcing the cargo market to grow and seek new solutions, creating a distinct need for more flexibility. Our holistic approach to accelerating this market will include working with Elroy Air and its Chaparral system, capable of delivering cargo (250-500 lbs) over distances up to 300 miles, as well as our work in associated services and air traffic management solutions.”
“Elroy Air aims to open a new chapter for the logistics market with point-to-point autonomous aerial cargo systems” said Dave Merrill, CEO of Elroy Air. “Elroy Air’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) cargo delivery aircraft, the Chaparral, will operate without airports or charging stations, and is optimized for freight with automated cargo loading and unloading. Our collaboration with EmbraerX will accelerate our path to deployment in commercial freight markets.”
This collaboration is part of EmbraerX’s multi-project approach to further develop the air mobility ecosystem and create the conditions for people and goods to move from A to B in a seamless and affordable way. Beyond cargo, EmbraerX is engaged in several projects, including the development of an Urban Air Mobility focused eVTOL, a tailored Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) system and a fleet-agnostic business platform, designated Beacon, to streamline services.
Alstom is to carry out the renewal and automation of Marseille metro for the sum of 430 million euros financed by Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. As part of this contract, Alstom will develop, supply and install the operating system and equipment for the automatic operation of the network’s two lines. Alstom will also commission 38 new rubber-tyred metros (4 cars) and modernise all the audiovisual passenger information inside the stations. The new trains are scheduled to enter service in early 2024.
The trains will run in semi-automatic mode with drivers until mid-2025 on line M2 and until 2026 on line M1, before switching to full automation.
“It is a great honour for us to contribute to modernising the mobility offer of Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. Our metro experts are already at work on several of our French sites to get started quickly with developments,” says Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, Senior Vice-President France at Alstom.
The new trains, based on Alstom’s rubber-tyred metro solutions, will incorporate the latest technological developments to increase comfort, availability, accessibility and passenger information, as well as facilitate maintenance.
Each 4-car train, 65 metres long and in “boa”[1] configuration, will be able to carry up to 500 passengers[2]. The sleekly designed trains will feature large bay windows, a highly efficient air conditioning system and modern passenger information systems, providing a pleasant on-board experience. Alstom called on Marseille designers Ora-ïto and Fabien Bourdier for the design and the sound conception of the new trains.
Three designs were proposed to the Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, which chose to set up an Internet consultation to give residents the opportunity to give their opinion on the design they would like to see selected.
The new metros for Marseille are environmentally friendly and will be eco-designed, enabling them to be 96% recoverable at the end of their lifespan. They will consume 25% less energy than the metros currently in service, thanks in particular to electric braking (up to 0 km/h), LED lighting and other optimisations.
For the automation system, Alstom will provide its Urbalis 400 solution, already deployed on more than 1,500 kilometres of metro lines worldwide. The Marseille metro will benefit from a proven, continuously improved system (on-board computers equipped with the latest technology, vital computers that are over 99% available, beacon tracker, etc.).
Alstom currently equips 25% of the CBTC[3] metro automations in service (60 lines, including 28 fully automated lines).
In total, more than 400 people in France will work on this project, including more than 60 in Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. Jobs will also be generated at our suppliers in France, but also in the Métropole for the installation and deployment of the signalling system.
Alstom will draw on the excellent skills of six of its French sites: Aix-en-Provence for the project management, Valenciennes for the design, interior layout, assembly, tests and validation of the trains, Ornans for the engines, Le Creusot for the bogies, Villeurbanne for the on-board electronics, passenger information, predictive maintenance and signalling system equipment, and Saint-Ouen for the coordination of the artistic design, development and integration of the signalling system.
PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) – France’s Dassault Aviation and Europe’s Airbus have stepped up pressure on France and Germany to agree on the next stage of a planned fighter project, warning Europe’s arms industry and long-term security could suffer from delays.
The two companies are the leading industrial partners in a project to build a futuristic swarm of manned and unmanned warplanes, announced by the leaders of France and Germany two years ago and expanded earlier this year to include Spain.
Dassault and Airbus won a 65-million-euro contract in January to develop the concept for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) but await a new contract to build demonstrators for interlinked fighters, drones and an “air combat cloud” by 2026.
Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Eric Trappier told a conference of policymakers last month that the demonstrator contract should have been launched in September but this was now slipping towards end-year. He called it “indispensable” to avoid any further delays in order to maintain the 2026 deadline.
No reason has been given for the delays.
On Monday evening, Dassault and Airbus amplified those warnings with a joint statement.
“If Europe does not move forward — and move forward quickly — on this programme, it will be impossible to maintain the development and production capabilities needed for a sovereign defence industry,” the companies said.
The warplane system is expected to be operational from 2040, with a view to replacing Dassault’s Rafale and the four-nation Eurofighter, in which Airbus represents both Germany and Spain.
The new project faces competition from Britain and its plans for a new combat jet dubbed “Tempest”.
The fighter developments have split the current Eurofighter consortium and led to a shake-up of industrial alliances as Italy joins Eurofighter partner Britain on Tempest, turning its back on Germany and Spain, while Sweden has opened the door to abandoning its independent stance by co-operating on Tempest.
The FCAS is also overshadowed by differences between France and Germany over export policy after Germany imposed a ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia over the death of killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi a year ago by Saudi operatives.
The ban, recently extended to March, has raised questions over a long-delayed Saudi border systems contract run by Airbus.
Airbus Defence and Space Chief Executive Dirk Hoke called in a magazine interview last week for the export ban to be relaxed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has said there is no reason for the moratorium to be lifted.
France and Germany are expected to discuss the issue at ministerial meetings this week.
AIRBUS SETBACK IN SPAIN
Airbus meanwhile faces a battle to shore up its position as a top defence contractor in Spain after losing its place as the representative of Spain’s interests on the upcoming fighter project to local defence electronics firm Indra Sistemas.
Spain last month named Indra as contractor for the Spanish share of the Franco-German-led FCAS project, displacing Airbus from the Spanish coordinator role it had held on Eurofighter.
Airbus officials have pledged to try to overturn the move but a Spanish defence source told Reuters there was no change in the decision.
Indra declined to comment.
Publicly, Airbus has said it was surprised by the decision but has pledged to continue to defend Spain’s best interests.
Dassault will meanwhile mark a long-awaited milestone on Tuesday when it delivers the first of 36 Rafales to India, the culmination of a fighter procurement process that lasted almost 20 years and involved the cancellation of a much larger deal.
La Tribune reported on Monday that France and India were discussing a possible repeat order for 36 more Rafales.
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid, Tassilo Hummel in Berlin, Editing by Deepa Babington)
