EADS Spending Millions to Develop New Helicopter

Farnborough (England) (Reuters) - TS in Europe (Paris: EAD.PA - News) said it spends about 50 million to 75 million dollars to develop a new version of the armed light utility helicopter competition for possible U.S. military and the emerging strong interest from by "large" number of foreign buyers.

S has built three aircraft technology demonstrators to show different aspects of the standards expected for the U.S. Army Armed Scout program air, Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter, head of EADS ', he told reporters before the Farnborough International Air Show.

Bertling told Reuters that the company has spent its own money to develop alternative armed light utility helicopter to them because it has seen strong demand arising from the United States and other customers in the Middle East.

The program can include new orders for up to 500 new helicopters, would be useful to 6 billion dollars to 8 billion dollars in the long term, according to defense analysts.

And win in order to give a big push strategy for EADS 'to establish itself as the main contractor in the U.S. market, which represents about half of global defense spending.

It is expected that the U.S. military to end the analysis of alternatives, and develop a plan for the new program in the second quarter of 2011, with the flow of funding to begin in 2012. But it can also delay the program and update the existing fleet of aging helicopters Ohio - 58 Kiowa to save money now.

"S. Bertling was a strong partner in Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT - News), which will provide the weapons, or an important package, the new helicopter, and if the program proceeds.

The group may EADS, Lockheed faces competition from Boeing competition (NYSE: BA - News), Sikorsky Aircraft unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX - News), and Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc. (NYSE: Channel - News), and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica (Milan: SIFI.MI - News).

In 2008, the army canceled in the past 6.2 billion program run by Bell Helicopter, to replace the existing fleet of helicopters aging Kiowa OH - 58 threatened to cost a gunman after a sharp rise.

The Bertling EADS was in a good position to bid for the successor program, because of its work on the aircraft light utility helicopter is to build the U.S. Army, one of the few procurement programs in the Pentagon and cost targets on time.

He said that EADS has handed over more than 120 new helicopters for the army, in all or ahead of schedule, and performance of last year played an important role in the competitions the Pentagon.

Army can still decide to update the current Kiowa helicopters, which are used to protect military convoys, and keep them flying for a longer period, given the increasing pressures in the budget of the United States, said Bertling.

But he said that a large number of foreign countries, particularly in the Middle East, and expressed interest in issuing the Armed light helicopter, but did not give details.

EADS also responds to the interest of the Army in perhaps using a combination of manned helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to replace the current fleet, or a "optionally manned" helicopter, which can be used with or without a pilot.

He said that the U.S. military's view that the use of helicopters and one even smaller, such as Kiowa to escort a military convoy is a big difference in deterring attacks and respond if they occurred.