Tuesday,
November 13, 2007
Italians on High-flying Mideast
The
ANNOTICO Report
Finmeccanica's strategy for boosting its
global presence in the aerospace sector, through it's subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica,
who is becoming a full global player, especially thanks to its excellence
in the composite technology for aerostructures.
Finmeccanica is looking to exploit its technological edge
through the risk-sharing partnership with Boeing and Vought for the B787 and the new joint venture
with Sukhoi to build and market the Superjet 100 narrowbody
jetliner, in an effort to break into the Middle East defense market, and is becoming a
presence in Dubai
Additionally, In the military field, Alenia Aeronautica is a major player in tactical transport
aircraft with the C-27J Spartan - a program in which it is partnered with Boeing and L-3 Communications in the
U.S.
Also,
Finmeccanica's AgustaWestland
subsidiary is one of the world's four main players in the rotorcraft arena.
It is now expanding its reach in export markets through deals such as the
program to develop the T129 combat helicopter with
As
for avionics, Finmeccanica took a major
strategic step by concluding its deal with BAE Systems to exercise the option to acquire
the remaining 25 percent of the Selex Sensors &
Airborne Systems business.
Additionally,
Finmeccanica is a key Italian industrial player
with Lockheed Martin's
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in the system development and
demonstration [SDD] phase, Italy being the second international partner
after the UK, with investments worth $1.028 billion.
High-flying
Italians on Mideast
A
new alliance with the evolving Russian aerospace sector and efforts to break
into the
Last year, aerospace and defense interests accounted for about half of all Finmeccanica's total revenues. "We are devoting a
major effort to make this sector more and more productive on the basis of the
existing businesses," Pier Francesco Guarguaglini,
Finmeccanica chairman and chief executive officer,
told AIN in an interview prior to this week's show.
"Alenia Aeronautica is
becoming a full global player, especially thanks to its excellence in the
composite technology for aerostructures, which is and
will be applied to B787, A 350, JSF and Superjet100 programs," Guarguaglini said. He added that the company is looking to
exploit its technological edge through the risk-sharing partnership with Boeing
and Vought for the B787 and the new joint venture with
Sukhoi to build and market the Superjet
100 narrowbody jetliner.
In the military field, Alenia Aeronautica
is a major player in tactical transport aircraft with the C-27J Spartan?a program in which it is
partnered with Boeing and L-3 Communications in the
Finmeccanica's AgustaWestland
subsidiary is one of the world's four main players in the rotorcraft arena. It
is now expanding its reach in export markets through deals such as the program
to develop the T129 combat helicopter with
As for avionics, Finmeccanica took a major strategic
step by concluding its deal with BAE Systems to exercise the option to acquire
the remaining 25 percent of the Selex Sensors &
Airborne Systems business. "Now we have full control of the company, which
will enable us to freely develop our strategies," said Guarguaglini.
European Consolidation
But surely Europe's aerospace and defense industry needs to achieve a much
greater degree of consolidation if it is ever to mount a serious challenge to
The Finmeccanica boss pointed out that, in fact,
there still are several programs that see a strong competition between European
companies (for example, the C-27J versus Spain's C-295 military transports).
But he refused to rule out the Italian group being active in further
consolidation. "If interesting opportunities will come out, we will be
ready to evaluate them and to make our moves," Guarguaglini
concluded tactfully.
As for the regional aircraft market, will Alenia Aeronautica's new joint venture with Sukhoi
generate synergies with its existing Avions de
Transport Regional joint venture with rival group EADS or will it become a
competitor? "For Alenia Aeronautica,
joining the Superjet 100 program means a strategic
investment in a program with a high-level market potential that also puts the
company, already a market leader with its turboprop regional ATRs, in a position to complete its offer in the field of
regional aircraft," Giorgio Zappa, Fin meccanica's
chief operating officer, told AIN.
According to the Italians, the Superjet 100 program
will give Alenia the opportunity to capitalize on the
technical and commercial know-how acquired through the ATR program to enter the
growing market for small- and medium-sized jetliners and to start a fruitful
collaboration with a leading Russian aerospace company. "Moreover, this
move will allow our principal aeronautics company to enter new markets and expand
those already controlled thanks to a next-generation product and its possible
derivatives, creating value for shareholders, with limited financial risks and
burdens," Zappa claimed.
The 95-seat Superjet 100 prototype was rolled out at
the end of September. Looking at the future, other versions of the regional
airliner are planned, which could include the participation of other Finmeccanica companies.
Key Player in the JSF
Another key program for Finmeccanica companies is
Lockheed Ma rtin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and
according to the group's leaders, the program has profound technological,
industrial and economic implications for the wider Italian industry. "The
JSF allows us to further develop the notable experience acquired with the Eurofighter program, not only in the aeronautical field but
also in avionics and electronics," Zappa said.
Finmeccanica subsidiaries such as Galileo Avionica, Selex Sensors &
Airborne Systems, Selex Communications, Elsag Datamat and Oto Melara are active in the JSF program
working on radars, defense and navigation systems, and systems integration.
"Such participation, added to that of Alenia Aeronautica, makes Finmeccanica
the key Italian industrial player in the JSF," Zappa said, "and in
the system development and demonstration [SDD] phase, Italy is the second
international partner after the UK, with investments worth $1.028 billion [in
2002 dollars]."
This spending is spread across the 2002-2012 time frame,
with 80 percent of the value covering the aircraft and 20 percent the engines.
According to a recent assessment in the SDD and in the low-rate initial
production (LRIP) phases, the more than 20 Italian companies involved in the
F-35 program should earn more than $800 million, accounting for about 80
percent of the investment.
According to the agreements drawn up with Lockheed Martin so far, the forecast
future industrial returns for Finmeccanica companies
should be about $10 billion.
"This result was obtained thanks to a great effort carried out both at
industrial and governmental level," Zappa stressed, "and in this new
plant we will install all the equipment needed for assembling and testing the
aircraft." These activities will be conducted by Alenia
Aeronautica in close cooperation with the Italian air
force, in order to acquire the common experience and skills for carrying out
the subsequent maintenance, repair and upgrade activities throughout the entire
fleet operational life.
As for the market in the
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