Breaking news
Airbus DS may offer an ISR version of the A400M and the A330 military aircraft.
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World Aviation Defense & Security Industry News - Airbus DS
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Airbus DS may offer an ISR version of the A400M and the A330 military aircraft
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Airbus Defence and Space is considering offering a new capabilities for the A400M and A330 aircraft. The company sees the fight against the IS, the requirement for multi-purpose platforms in an era of tight budgets, as the main driving forces.
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 An Airbus A300 MRTT tanker aircraft refuelling an A400M military airlifter(Credit: Airbus DS) |
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Despite the latest developments in international security and the need for increased budgets, countries will have to spend wisely the extra money for defence. Airbus consideration relies on that assumption. An A400M cargo or an A330 tanker aircraft still has available space that could be used for equipment, for ISR missions, when not being employed in its original role.
An example of that assumption is the Airbus C-235 cargo aircraft, which is offered in many different versions, with roll-on/roll-off kits. The collaboration between Airbus, ATK and KADDB has led to the AC-235 Light Gunship for the Jordanian Air Force, which is equipped with guns and missiles for ground targets. Recently, a C295W successfully completed more tests as a fire-fighting platform. Fernando Alonso, Head of Airbus Defence and Aerospace, said at an interview at Bloomberg that additional equipment could be integrated on those platforms. Optical and electronic sensors, early warning systems and many more off-the-shelf systems would be able to increase the modularity and the overall value-for-money of the aircraft, offering valuable economies of scale to the customer and support the company’s business development efforts, which sees many market opportunities worldwide for the A400M and the A330. |
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