Will someone please drug test this guy or label him 5150?

Via Aviation Week (official magazine of EADS and EADS North America *note stated tongue in cheek---sorta).

After a lull period, EADS North America is seeing increased interest from the Pentagon about a potential purchase of Airbus Military C-212 light transports.
There is “intensifying interest” in the last month for the C-212 to potentially serve as a new light mobility aircraft, says Sean O’Keefe, CEO of EADS N.A. The program outline is still emerging, but O’Keefe says it could entail the purchase of 50-100 aircraft.
One of the drivers of twin-engine C-212 interest is a recognition that doing the mission with a single-engine aircraft is not suitable.
O’Keefe says EADS N.A. also is eyeing a special operations command requirement for transport aircraft. The C-212 is one of the aircraft the special operations community will be evaluating, he says.
Still unclear is what the commercial strategy would be for the U.S. program, including whether the aircraft would be assembled in the U.S.

Geez.

WHAT IS THIS GUY SMOKING!

First we get word that the US military will be interested in purchasing the A400M.  Now we get word that the US military is showing interest in the C-212.

Yep, O'Keefe needs to be drug tested or declared 5150.

My question is this.  What happened to the C-27????  This from Wikipedia...

The United States received its first C-27J on 25 September 2008.^[28] In September 2008, the C-27J Schoolhouse, operated by L-3 Link, officially began classes at the Georgia Army National Guard Flight Facility, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. By April 2009, the Army had accepted deliveries of two aircraft and had 11 more on order.^[29] A proposal in May 2009 that the US Army/Army National Guard relinquish all of its aircraft to the US Air Force, primarily the Air National Guard, with a reduction of the total buy to 38 aircraft,^{[30][dead link]}led the DoD to give total control of the US's C-27Js to the USAF in December.^[21] Although the plan is for the C-27J to be entirely operated by the Air National Guard for direct support of the United States Army, today both Army National Guard and Air National Guard flight crews support the fielding of the aircraft. The US Air National Guard had received four C-27Js by July 2010 and began using them for testing and training. Purchase of 38 Spartans is anticipated with initial operational capability expected in October 2010.^[31] The US Air Force has planned the C-27J's first combat deployment for summer 2011.^[32]

Wishful thinking is not a business plan.

EADS and EADS North America seem to be engaged in a whole bunch of wishful thinking.

EC635

EC635

EADS news you won't hear on Aviation Week.

via Aviation News.EU.

Airbus will not hold a demonstration of its A380 superjumbo at the Paris International Air Show after the wing-tip of its test aircraft was damaged in an incident Sunday, the company said.
“During ground maneuvers with the Airbus A380 flight test aircraft MSN 004, the aircraft’s right hand wing-tip touched a structure near the taxiway,” at Le Bourget airport on Sunday afternoon, Airbus said in a statement.
“Airbus experts are currently inspecting the aircraft, but it is already confirmed that the A380 MSN 004 will not perform the flying display at the Le Bourget Air Show 2011,” it said.
It was the second setback for Airbus ahead of the show, which starts Monday, after it announced earlier Sunday that its A400M military transport plane will not make any flight demonstrations because of a problem with its engines.
The A380 — the world’s largest passenger jet with capacity for up to 853 passengers — entered into service in 2007, breaking US rival Boeing’s more than three decades of dominance of the jumbo jet market with the 747.
Source: Airbus

A400M...wishful thinking abounds.

Ole Bill wrote this for Aviation Week this morning...

US interest in the A400M is likely to emerge mid-decade, according to EADS North America CEO Sean O'Keefe.  At the company's pre-Paris media seminar, O'Keefe noted that the USAF is likely to retire its oldest C-5A heavy transports before 2020.

"That leaves a hole in the big airbase, heavy-payload role," O'Keefe points out, and Boeing C-17s will be pulled into that mission - opening up the need for new tactical airlifters. "At that point, we'll have a hot production line", O'Keefe says, "and there isn't going to be any new US program."

However, Airbus Military is not going to do any intensive marketing until the A400M completes testing and gains its commercial type certificate, due next year.

Damn this guy is wishing on a star.

Boeing is slow walking C-17 production with an eye toward the same future that EADS sees with the A400M.

And the A400M will face the same issues it faces today.

Smaller payload than the C-17.

Shorter ranged than the C-17.

Slower than the C-17.

Worldwide acceptance and service.

Costs just a few mill less than the C-17.

And thats looking at it today.  Looking into the future I can see the C-17 getting stretched....Uprated engines...improved avionics...increased fuel efficiency measures...better aircraft defense countermeasures...a dedicated Special Operations version...

The list is endless and this clown from EADS thinks he's going to bust into the US market with an inbetween airplane that isn't as good as the industry leader and costs about the same?

Whatever he's smoking, I recommend he stop.  And I hope this type thinking is drug induced...if he's sober then they need a new CEO.

NOTE:

The weirdest thing about the whole A400 saga is the fact that when they first designed it and brought it to market, it was suppose to be a C-130 killer.

Lockheed Martin got nervous----started designing XL C-130's....the USAF was even starting to make noise about it because it was suppose to be the perfect plane to go along with the Stryker Brigades....

And then two things happened.

1.  The Stryker gained weight.  Alot of weight.  C-17 airlift type weight.
2.  The cost point of the A400 expanded to enormous proportions.

Now I can imagine Boeing executives are sitting back watching EADS spin like tea leaves and laughing there asses off.  The standard EADS model of building 'in betweener' aircraft bit EADS.  They deserve it.