PARIS — A request from Airbus to set a cap on penalty payments on the troubled A400M airlifter has been directed to OCCAR, the European procurement agency, said Laurent Collet-Billon, head of France's Direction Générale de l'Armement acquisition office.
"We have taken full note of the letter," Collet-Billon told journalists March 7, referring to a request from Airbus for six client nations and OCCAR to lighten contractual requirements, which have led to heavy financial charges.
"We have asked OCCAR to consider the issue," as the program director of the European agency was better suited to deal with the complexities than junior ministers and procurement chiefs, he said.
Any contract change would call for detailed work and deep cooperation with Airbus, with all seven clients agreeing to new terms, he said. "That could take some time," he added.
Airbus Chairman Denis Ranque and CEO Tom Enders sent two weeks ago the request for resetting A400M penalties to Britain, France, Germany, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey and OCCAR. Airbus, based in Toulouse, southwest France, has yet to deliver the aircraft to be shared by Belgium and Luxembourg.
Airbus agreed to penalties on the late delivery as part of a 2010 deal for the clients to inject an extra €3.5 billion (U.S. $3.7 billion) into the A400M program. Since then, the aircraft builder has struggled to fix technical problems and deliver the full "tactical" capabilities on time.
