The Canadian ambitions of the Airbus defense and space division have been deflated for a little over two years. The potential new Quebec factories mentioned in 2019 will not emerge from the ground, while it is in Europe that the European giant is building the planes it delivers to the Canadian army.
Simon Jacques, at the helm of this division in Canada, would now like to see Ottawa “open its doors properly” in order to allow Airbus to solicit new research contracts in the aerospace industry.
“We want to participate in the studies, but when you put Canadian content thresholds of around 80% in the contracts, you shoot yourself in the foot,” he explained to Press. We prevent players like Airbus, who want to invest to position themselves in contracts, to come and participate. ”
Mr. Jacques took part in an event organized by Airbus in Mirabel, where the A220s are assembled, in the company of the President and CEO of Airbus Canada, Benoît Schultz, and Dwayne Charrette, head of the helicopter division.
The main stakeholder is relying heavily on contracts for communications and Earth surveillance satellites in order to grow the activities of the niche he leads.
A scenario, without follow-up
It was Mr. Jacques who himself had mentioned the construction of two factories in Quebec if the multinational succeeded in obtaining the contract for the replacement of 88 obsolete F-18 fighters of the Canadian army and an agreement with Telesat, a communications satellite operator. The statements were made in 2019 as part of an event similar to that organized on Tuesday.
The European giant ultimately got nothing. Telesat turned to Thales Alenia and Airbus withdrew from the fighter jet tender, which still includes Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Saab.
Asked about the turn of events, Mr. Jacques was cautious, limiting himself to saying that the Airbus decision had nothing to do with the ability to assemble fighter jets in Quebec.
“For the programs I am in charge of, we have to look at what we can build and which would not increase the risks and costs”, he said, relaunched on the issue during an exchange with members of the media.
Canadian content
Airbus has so far delivered 7 of the 16 CC-295 search and rescue aircraft to the Canadian military – a $ 2.4 billion contract to replace former Buffalo search and rescue aircraft from the US Army. air as well as an old version of the army’s Hercules aircraft.
These planes are assembled in Spain, but there is nevertheless a lot of Canadian content there, underlined Mr. Jacques to illustrate the fallout of the contract in the country.
“It’s a European fuselage, but a Canadian plane,” he said. Engines are built by Pratt & Whitney Canada, flight simulators are sourced from CAE, and sensors and other equipment are provided by L3Harris [présente au Québec]. ”
The other contract for Airbus concerns the replacement of military transport and refueling aircraft for the Canadian Armed Forces. One of the planes is used for the Prime Minister’s travels. The multinational was the only company retained, last April, for this contract whose value should oscillate between 4 and 6 billion. The new aircraft will be A330 MRTTs, which can carry up to 110 tonnes of fuel.
If the agreement must be finalized, one thing is certain: the device will be assembled in Toulouse, before heading to Spain, where it will be transformed.
“You can’t have an assembly line for between four and six planes,” said the head of Airbus Defense and Space.
The issue of economic spinoffs in Canada with regard to the A330 MRTT contract must also be finalized with Ottawa, said Mr. Jacques.
More news on Airbus
A workforce that should climb in Mirabel
The pandemic had resulted in the elimination of around 350 jobs in Mirabel, where some 2,500 people work on the A220. Airbus wants to assemble 14 aircraft per month around 2025 in Mobile, Alabama, and Mirabel, compared to 5 aircraft currently. This ramp-up should be accompanied by new hires. “We will cross the 3000 mark [employés] eventually, said Mr. Schultz, speaking of Mirabel. We have a growth plan. ”
The plan before the elongated version
At the beginning of October, Airbus commercial director Christian Scherer said that an extended version was a question of “when”, but not of “if”. Mr. Schultz prefers to talk about achieving a balance – the program is still in deficit – before thinking of a new device. ” He [l’A220] has potential to go beyond [du segment], replied the boss of Airbus Canada, when asked. It is not yet the decision of the moment. ”
Optimism and a zero value
Quebec owns 25% of the A220 by virtue of its US $ 1 billion investment. Airbus can buy back this stake from 2026. The “fair value” of the placement was “zero” as of March 31, according to a government report. Mr. Schultz did not want to say if Quebec could recover its stake. “The mandate I was given is one of development,” he said, adding that he could not speak for the shareholders of the program. The people who sell the plane are optimistic. ”
Fly in formation to save
The Airbus event was accompanied by a particular test: a test flight of two A350s between Toulouse and Montreal during which the two aircraft were three kilometers apart during the cruise phase. Thanks to the wake effect, Airbus estimates that flying airliners one after the other would save more than 5% of fuel over long distances. Airbus has developed in-flight control systems to position the follower aircraft in a safe manner.