Flight_International 28Jan2020

THIS WEEK

flightglobal.com 28 January-3 February 2020 | Flight International | 9

Details emerge of

Iran 737 shootdown

This Week P

E

mbraer is on course to decide

on the launch of an all-new

advanced turboprop airliner

within the next 12 months – but

warns that the decision hinges

on the approval of its joint ven-

ture with Boeing.

The Brazilian manufacturer is

two years into a three-year study

covering the creation of a family

of large turboprops similar in size

to the ATR 72, Embraer Commer-

cial Aviation chief executive John

Slattery told Flight International

during aviation finance week in

Dublin on 20 January.

But he adds that it is crucial

that the ongoing probe by the

European Commission into the

proposed tie-up with Boeing is

cleared: “In essence – no JV, no

TP [turboprop],” he says.

The joint venture, which will

see Boeing take a majority stake in

Embraer’s commercial aviation

division, has been signed off by all

anti-trust authorities other than in

Brazil and the EU. The deal had

been expected to be cleared to go

ahead last year, but the Commis-

sion “stopped the clock” on its in-

vestigation as it had not received

DEVELOPMENT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES DUBLIN

EC approval key to Embraer turboprop

Brazilian airframer says decision covering new airliner family is conditional on green light for joint venture with Boeing

John Slattery says proposed aircraft would compete with ATR types

BillyPix

DEBUT GARRETT REIM LOS ANGELES

US Navy’s ‘lifeline’ moves forward as CMV-22B flies

T

he US Navy's (USN’s) first

Bell Boeing CMV-22B Osprey

has made its initial flight at Bell’s

Amarillo site in Texas.

Further details have not been

disclosed, but the manufacturers

say they plan to deliver the tiltro-

tor to the US Naval Air Systems

Command’s Air Test and Evalua-

tion Squadron 21 early this year

to support developmental trials.

The new variant will replace

Bell Boeing

Ospreys will transport high-priority cargo to aircraft carriers at sea

the navy's Grumman C-2A Grey-

hound twin-turboprops for mis-

sions including transporting per-

sonnel, mail, supplies and

high-priority cargo from land to

aircraft carriers at sea. The type

may also be used to move cargo to

expeditionary bases.

Another role for the carrier on-

board delivery asset will involve

ferrying Pratt & Whitney F

engines for the Lockheed Martin

F-35 to and from USN aircraft

carriers and the US Marine

Corps’ (USMC's) amphibious as-

sault ships.

“With the ability to travel up to

1,150nm [2,130km], the CMV-

22B will be a lifeline for our ser-

vicemen and women out at sea,”

says Kristin Houston, director of

the Bell Boeing V-22 programme.

Key differences over the

USMC-operated MV-22 incude a

larger fuel tank and improved

fuel dump capability.

The service plans to buy 44 ex-

amples, with the CMV-22B due to

be deployed and achieve initial

operational capability next year.

Full operational capability is ex-

pected in 2022, the navy says.

Cirium fleets data shows that

the USN currently operates 34

C-2 transports, aged between 30

and 35 years. ■

all the information it had request-

ed from the two OEMs.

“In the case of Brazil, it was

signalled before Christmas that

the regulatory authority was pre-

disposed to an approval early in

the new year,” says Slattery.

“We’re hopeful that will happen,

and expect that to happen with

no conditionality associated with

it, which is exactly the form of

approval from every jurisdiction

we have received so far.”

Slattery says that the EU clock

has “restarted” now that it has all

the required information, and the

revised target date for the

go-ahead is 30 April. This would

clear the path to a decision on

the turboprop.

“I’m hopeful that by the end of

this year we would be able to

make a definitive position on the

turboprop,” he says. “However,

neither I nor my board will have

appetite to move forward with

the turboprop unless the joint

venture has materialised.”

Slattery points out that follow-

ing approval of the JV, if Embraer

went ahead with the turboprop it

would provide an all-new com-

petitor to the ATR family. “There

is today an effective monopoly

with ATR, which of course is 50%

owned by Airbus,” he says.

“The market wants a competi-

tive counterpoint to the ATR, and

if we did make the move I expect

ATR would respond – whether

it’s with either an improved ATR

or a clean-sheet design. And the

beneficiaries of that are the opera-

tors... and the environment.”

Slattery says that Embraer is

studying a two-aircraft family

and is in dialogue with “three”

engine manufacturers about a

powerplant. “We are now in that

bridge phase moving from RFI

[request for information] to RFP

[request for proposals] with the

manufacturers, with the inten-

tion of selecting one.”

Slattery adds that wind-tunnel

testing will begin this year as the

study enters the final phase. He

adds that if the decision to launch

the turboprop is made on its cur-

rent planned schedule, the target

in-service date would be “quarter

four 2025, quarter one 2026”. ■