Defensieforum.nl

[Lex]

PARIS - The defense ministers of France and Germany agreed here July 21 to set up a joint working group to look at possible avenues for pooling resources.

France's Hervé Morin said that the A400M transport plane issue would be among the agenda items of the working group. He and German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stressed the importance of moving ahead in the construction of a European defense industry.

With regard to an order for Talarion UAVs, developed by EADS, Guttenberg said it is still "too early" for a joint decision.

In a separate but related development July 20, the European Defence Agency signed a 400,000 euro ($514,000) contract with Saab to develop a step-by-step plan "to help safeguard Europe's ability to independently provide competitive aerospace solutions to meet Common Security and Defence Policy capability requirements in the 2035 timeframe."

The work includes providing a road map and implementation plan identifying priority measures to strengthen the industry, and identifying pilot UAV and helicopter programs.

European Defence Agency CEO Alexander Weis said the contract would "help create a European approach to the aerospace defense technological and industrial base - one that recognized that it is more than a disparate range of national capacities - and that European collaboration must be an important part of the sector's future."

AFP,
Published: 23 Jul 2010 20:09