THIS WEEK
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defection should
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This Week PD
assault chief executive Eric
Trappier regrets the break-
down of the UK-France defence
partnership that would have seen
his company team with BAE Sys-
tems on a next-generation fighter,
saying a “political decision” was
behind last year’s launch of the
Franco-German Future Combat
Air System initiative.
Dassault and BAE began
collaborating after the Lancaster
House agreement in 2010(^) between then president Nicolas
Sarkozy and prime minister
David Cameron. However,
PARTNERSHIP MURDO MORRISON PARIS
‘Politics’ killed off Anglo-French fighter
Dassault chief executive regrets abandoned initiative, while welcoming formal go-ahead for Franco-German project
C
FM International expects to
produce an average of 10
Leap-1B engines – the powerplant
for the Boeing 737 Max – per week
during 2020, out of a total annual
Leap production of 1,400.
The forecast was disclosed by
CFM partner Safran in its full-year
financial figures – which assume
that 737 Max deliveries will re-
start in mid-2020 following the
production halt in January.
The Max crisis was reflected in
order activity, with 1,968 Leap or-
ders and commitments last year,
compared with 3,211 for 2018.
Safran says production levels
over 2019 were nevertheless “sta-
ble”. Leap production rose to
1,736 engines, but combined Leap
and CFM56 deliveries were down
by 35 engines at 2,127, reflecting a
63% decline in CFM56 output to
391, as well as the Max lines.
The Leap backlog at the end of
2019 was 15,614 – almost un-
changed from the 15,620 in 2018.
Despite the Max grounding,
Safran’s original equipment reve-
nues for aerospace propulsion
rose by 13.5%, while service reve-
nues were up 14.2%. ■
PRODUCTION DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
CFM forecasts 10-per-week Leap output in 2020
PROGRAMME
Trappier tight-lipped on ‘Future Falcon’, with focus on 6X
More details on Dassault
Aviation’s “Future Falcon” busi-
ness jet will be revealed by June,
as the airframer prepares to take
on new launches from rivals
Bombardier and Gulfstream.
However, chief executive Eric
Trappier refuses to be drawn on
a precise launch date for the
aircraft, or what segment the
type will serve, other than to
confirm that its mission will be
“different to the 6X”.
The 6X, Dassault’s in-develop-
ment twinjet, is due to fly in the
first quarter of 2021. Powered by
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D
engines, it has a range of
5,500nm (10,200km).
Dassault is also holding firm to
its forecast for 40 Falcon deliveries
this year despite growing con-
cerns about the impact of corona-
virus and other economic
headwinds. In 2019, the French
airframer shipped five fewer
examples than its original forecast
of 45. Its Falcon backlog stood at
53 at the end of December.
Trappier admits the decision to
abandon the previous 5X pro-
gramme in 2017 after problems
with the Safran Silvercrest engine
set the company’s fortunes back.
“Obviously we lost what we
had in the book for the 5X, but we
would have continued to get or-
ders, so we are suffering because
we do not have that,” he says. ■
Dassault
Elaine Thompson/AP/Shutterstock
Future Combat Air System is now a collaborative effort with Airbus
Grounding of 737 Max – followed by production halt – has hit orders
following the UK’s vote to leave
the EU in 2016, pressure grew for
Paris and Berlin to develop an
alternative solution.
Last year, both governments
announced that Dassault and
Airbus Defence & Space would
lead the initiative, along with com-
panies including MBDA, Safran,
MTU, and Indra of Spain, which is
also to join the partnership.
Trappier does not rule out an
eventual merger between Franco-
German efforts and the UK- Italian-
Swedish Tempest project,
launched at the 2018 Farnborough
air show, and a “reaction”, he
says, to the decision by France
and Germany. But he admits that
“to stop the train [in the short to
medium term] will be difficult”.
He welcomes January’s formal
go-ahead for the Franco-German
effort, originally planned for 2018.
“It took a certain time to achieve,
but what is important is that we
now have a concrete contract. It’s
now real work.”
Speaking at Dassault’s annual
results presentation in Paris on
27 February, Trappier confirmed
that the company’s Rafale
backlog stands at 75 units, with
47 of these allocated for export
customers and 28 for France.
Dassault delivered a total of 26
Rafales in 2019 – all for export. It
expects to hand over 13 examples
to international buyers this year,
with the next French deliveries
scheduled to take place between
2022 and 2024. ■