AIR International – June 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1
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SCENE


Airbus and Bombardier have finalised
the deal announced in October 2017
for the European manufacturer to
take a 50.01% stake in the C Series
Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP).
The deal was due to complete on

July 1, 2018, and means Airbus
will take a controlling stake in the
C Series. The CSALP’s head office
will be at Mirabel, Quebec, where
Bombardier manufactures the airliner,
but Airbus plans to open a second C

Series assembly line dedicated to US
customers at its Mobile, Alabama,
facility. News about the partnership
came in the same week as a big sales
boost for the C Series with CS
launch operator Air Baltic signing a

firm purchase agreement for up to
60 more CS300s. Having previously
ordered 20 CS300s, eight of which
are now in service, the Latvian carrier
becomes the second-largest C Series
customer after Delta. Mark Broadbent

The first deliveries of aircraft from Air Baltic’s order for up to 60 more Bombardier CS300s are due in Q4 2019. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft

C Series deal


Heron TPs for Germany


The Bundeswehr (German Armed
Forces) is to operate the Heron TP
unmanned aerial system. German
parliamentary approval was given
on June 13 for a contract for five
aircraft, which will replace the
Heron 1s currently deployed by the

Bundeswehr. The contract, which also
covers four sets of ground segments,
training environments and all system
operational services, is based on the
existing Heron 1 agreement where
industry is responsible for system
performance, flight hours and

availability. The Heron TPs will be used
for reconnaissance missions, but will
additionally be capable of carrying
weapons. They will be equipped with
electro-optical and infrared sensors,
imaging radar, satellite communication,
weather radar and German data and

voice encryption systems. There will
be a two-year set-up period ahead of
the initial Heron TP delivery followed
by a seven-year operational phase
until replacement by the proposed
European medium-altitude long-
endurance system. Mark Broadbent

The German parliament has approved a contract for the Bundeswehr to operate five Heron TPs. Airbus

A Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation
(MITAC) MRJ90 is due to appear
in the flying display at this year’s
Farnborough Air Show. This will
be a first for the 88-seat MRJ
as at its airshow debut in Paris last
year it was only on static display.
Currently, four MRJ90s are carrying

out the flight test programme at
Moses Lake, Washington, with one
carrying out ground tests at MITAC’s
Nagoya factory in Japan. The flight
test programme had logged 1,
hours by April before it was delayed
by several weeks when problems,
including the wiring harness, required

modifications to bring the test aircraft
into a certifiable configuration.
The MRJ90’s certification by the US
Federal Aviation Administration and
service entry is currently targeted
for 2020, eight years after it was
originally planned. However, MITAC
marketing efforts are reportedly now

emphasising the shorter-fuselage
76-seat MRJ70 version. Two MRJ
test aircraft are currently being built
at Nagoya. It is projected to be
certified in 2021. MITAC’s hopes for
increased MRJ sales in the United
States market largely rest with the
MRJ70. David C Isby

MRJ flying at Farnborough

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