Flight International 16Mar2020

NEWS FOCUS

16 | Flight International | 10-16 March 2020 flightglobal.com

E

ric Trappier suspected some-

thing was wrong when BAE

Systems stopped returning his

calls. It was 2017 and, for more

than four years, the Dassault Avi-

ation chief executive had been

working with his opposite num-

ber at the UK defence contractor

on an Anglo-French project to

develop an unmanned combat

air vehicle, an effort set in pro-

cess by the Lancaster House trea-

ties aimed at pooling the talents

of Europe’s big two defence in-

dustries.

The 2010 agreement was a

legacy of then-UK premier David

Cameron and French president

Nicolas Sarkozy. But Sarkozy’s

successor-but-one, Emmanuel

Macron, was not a fan of the

latter-day entente cordiale.

After the UK’s 2016 vote to

leave the EU, the newly elected

Macron and German chancellor

Angela Merkel – passionate be-

lievers in the European project –

wanted to strengthen defence

ties across the Rhine instead.

Trappier’s line to BAE’s Farnbor-

ough HQ went dead and he was

RESULTS MURDO MORRISON PARIS

Dassault looks for lift from

future fighter and Falcons

Trappier says R&D spend boosts company’s prospects in business aviation and defence

Airframer is making concerted effort to ensure the 6X remains on schedule for service entry in 2022

Dassault

told to switch allegiances.

The outcome was the Future

Combat Air System (FCAS), for-

mally launched after much wran-

gling at the Paris air show in

2019, and finalised earlier this

year. While Trappier is “delight-

ed” to be working with new part-

ner Airbus Defence & Space – as

prime industrial contractor on

the German side – and to have a

firm contract, he regrets having to

abandon his former ally. “It

should have been the UK and

France after Lancaster House,” he

tells Flight International. “It was

a French political decision relat-

ed to Brexit.”

ADJUSTMENT REQUIRED

Under the new arrangement, Das-

sault will take the lead on a Next

Generation Fighter, due to fly in

2026. Trappier admits dealing
      with the Germans will be a differ-
      ent challenge to that of co-operat-
      ing with UK industry, more be-
      cause of political cultures than
      the relationship with Airbus’s
      Bavaria-based defence arm. Like
      the UK, France’s strong executive

has considerable autonomy

when it comes to defence policy,

while Germany’s parliamentary

and federal structure of checks

and balances can mean decisions

take much longer.

Trappier has also not given up

on the possibility of a grand alli-

ance coming together at some

point – combining the work

done by Dassault and Airbus,

and separately by BAE and

Leonardo under the now rival

Anglo-Italian Tempest project,

which also has involvement

from Sweden’s Saab – into a

four- or five-nation initiative to

design a future European fighter.

However, he admits: “Who

knows what the future will bring?

But it will be difficult in [the me-

dium term] to stop the train that

has been set in motion.”

While FCAS is Dassault’s long-

term bet, the Rafale – a fighter

Trappier expects to be flying into

the second half of the century –

remains its linchpin.

After years of trying, Dassault

secured its first foreign customers

• Egypt and Qatar – in 2015, fol-

lowed by India, and 47 of 75 air-

craft in the backlog are destined

for overseas buyers. Dassault de-

livered 26 Rafales last year, all for

export, and expects to follow up

with 13 this year. The next

French tranche of 28 is set to be

handed over between 2022 and

2024, with potential for a fifth

batch, to add to the original 180

orders from Paris, to begin

delivery in 2027.

Elsewhere, Dassault is pitching

the Rafale – which will celebrate

its 20th anniversary in French ser-

vice next year – in fighter competi-

tions in Finland and Switzerland.

“We have made new proposals in

both and during 2020 we will con-

tinue our talks,” he says, adding:

“We have other prospects but

these I will not tell you about.”

On the civil side, Dassault is

also putting down a serious mark-

er, with a likely response later this

year to moves by rivals Bombar-

dier and Gulfstream in the

ultra-long-range business jet seg-

ment. The Global 7500 and G

have ranges around 7,500nm

(13,900km), about 1,000nm great-

er than Dassault’s flagship 8X.