Airbus Says It Lacks Orders to Boost Output of Eurofighter Jets

Natalia Drozdiak
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE’s plans to ramp up production of its Eurofighter aircraft and other key weapons systems are being held back because governments aren’t committing to orders, the head of its defense unit said.

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Michael Schoellhorn, the chief executive officer of Airbus Defence and Space, said he expects an uptick in orders for jets, drones and space-based products in the coming years. But despite a push by NATO allies for accelerated production, Airbus has yet to see more orders that would allow it to scale up output.

“Currently we don’t have the orders to ramp up any further, we’re waiting for orders to reconfirm that we can keep the lines running” for systems, such as its Eurofighter or A400 military transport aircraft, Schoellhorn said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Berlin’s restrictive stance on arms exports outside Ukraine also plays a role, he added.

Production could ramp up even with a handshake deal, but aircraft are not currently the priority with ammunition and tank production for Ukraine and to replenish stocks taking precedence, Schoellhorn said.

Read More: Joint Ammo Purchases for Ukraine Gain Traction Among EU Members

European governments have been slow to issue contracts in part because they don’t have the staffers to vet the orders after years of reined in defense spending, according to Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, who tracks arms production at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The CEO of the Airbus unit, based in Taufkirchen outside Munich, said the company has capacity to produce around 30 A400 aircraft a year, but currently only produces nine. That would give Airbus space to ramp up quickly, allowing for time for staffing.

Production rates for Eurofighters could take longer, he said, “because the industry has adapted to the very low demand signal that was there for many, many years.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pledges by NATO allies to help Kyiv defend itself have triggered a boost in defense spending, but the shift came after years of limited investment in arms on a continent that didn’t anticipate a major conflict in the era after the Cold War.

Satellites, Eurofighters

Airbus expects to see increased interest in its medium altitude and tactical drones as well as its space defense products, like satellite imagery, Schoellhorn said. The executive also noted a shift toward militaries adopting a constellation of satellites, instead of a single geo-satellite, to ensure resilient and secure communications in wartime — a similar development to SpaceX’s internet-from-space initiative, Starlink, in Ukraine.

In addition, Airbus expects it will eventually see orders for its Eurofighters, as air forces will require updated aircraft decades from now, Schoellhorn said.

Amid an ongoing debate over whether allies should send Ukraine fighter jets, the Airbus executive said he saw limited immediate military benefit of deliveries of modern aircraft, in light of the roughly six months of training pilots would require.

Governments, including the Netherlands, haven’t ruled out sending F-16s in the long-term to help Ukraine defend its airspace after the war. If they do, such air power should ideally be a fleet of the same type of aircraft because of the complexity of maintenance and procuring spare parts, he said.

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