Published in the French newspaper "La Tribune" material Michel Cabirol "Moteurs de l Eurodrone: dernière chance pour Safran de supplanter General Electric (the Engines for Eurodrone: do take Advantage of Safran's last chance to oust General Electric?") it is reported that the European company Airbus Defense requested engine of General Electric company and Safran Helicopter Engines to give it the final commercial proposal on production of turboprop engine for advanced European unmanned aerial vehicles long duration flight Eurodrone MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance).
Project image of a promising European long-duration unmanned aerial vehicle Eurodrone MALE (C) Airbus
So, Airbus Defense will very soon make its verdict on which engine the Eurodrone MALE will fly. American giant General Electric (GE) is offering its GE Catalist engine through its Italian subsidiary Avio, which has partially Europeanized the engine developed for the Cessna Denali single-engine turboprop aircraft under test at Textron Aviation Inc.
The French private company Safran Helicopter Engines (Safran HE) put forward a proposal for the Ardiden TP3 engine, supported by the French Ministry of defense, but the company did not make this decision easily after revealing the details of the competition.
According to some sources, it is for the same reason that Airbus Defense again requested an offer from both competitors to give Safran HE the opportunity to catch up financially or finally bury the offer from the "domestic manufacturer" with the words " see: they failed to take advantage of the opportunity given to them." Thus, Safran HE will be able to play this unexpected extra ball that fell on her.
The difference in the offer was 20-25 million euros
The Eurodrone MALE UAV program is estimated to exceed 7 billion euros, and it is one of the most iconic for the defense of Europe. The difference in the previous offer of the two engine manufacturers was 20-25 million euros, although the commercial offer of Safran HE was much more aggressive than the one they had previously proposed to Airbus. However, given the European realities, there is no certainty that this time the French will be able to overtake the American offer. But the difference in the offer is too small, given the amount at stake, 7 billion euros, and, above all, the European offer should take precedence when it comes to military programs funded by European States: Germany, Spain, France and Italy.
The size of the order
A group of European States has formed an order for 21 Eurodrone MALE complexes, each of which includes three unmanned aerial vehicles - that is, a total of 63 drones for a total of 7.1 billion euros, including development.
Thus, it is expected that excluding R & d costs, the cost of one Eurodrone MALE complex will be 40 million euros lower than that of the American counterpart General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, the French defense Ministry said, namely 160 million euros against 200 million euros from overseas manufacturers.
In addition, the French defense Ministry stressed that the cost of operating the Eurodrone MALE will also be lower than that of the Reaper, and will amount to 3,000 euros per hour of flight, compared to 4,000 euros for the Reaper.
