{"text":[[{"start":12.04,"text":"Airbus executives will meet counterparts from BAE Systems to explore how the pan-European group could join the UK company’s next-generation fighter jet programme, as it seeks to chart a new course for its military aircraft business. "}],[{"start":24.97,"text":"Executives will discuss opportunities in the coming week for collaboration between the two companies across several areas in future combat air, including the Global Combat Air Programme between BAE and its partners from Italy and Japan, according to four people familiar with the plans. "},{"start":39.549,"text":"They stressed that no final decisions were expected at this stage. "}],[{"start":43.480000000000004,"text":"The talks come just over a fortnight after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK would be open to Germany joining GCAP. "},{"start":50.072,"text":"Berlin has been seeking new partners since the collapse in the summer of its own project with France and Spain, known as FCAS, after a bitter industrial dispute between Airbus and French jet maker Dassault Aviation. "}],[{"start":62.080000000000005,"text":"An initial plan for a German-led alternative by Airbus, its Spanish partner Indra and other industrial groups has been dropped, leaving Berlin with the option of either joining GCAP or forging an alliance with Sweden’s defence champion Saab. "}],[{"start":75.11,"text":"Bringing Airbus and Indra into GCAP would not be straightforward. "},{"start":79.039,"text":"BAE and its partners, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have already agreed on the key workshare elements of the programme, as well as on ownership of intellectual property. "}],[{"start":89.87,"text":"The UK, Italy and Japan have also made clear that they do not want to delay their plan to have a supersonic jet in service by 2035. "}],[{"start":98.43,"text":"“Our programme is marching on and we don’t want to affect timescales,” said one British official. "},{"start":103.55900000000001,"text":"The message from Burnham to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he said, was: “Are you interested? "},{"start":109.18900000000001,"text":"If so, let’s get a discussion going. ”"}],[{"start":112.11000000000001,"text":"Despite the industrial hurdles, Berlin’s entry would bring money — and more orders — for GCAP. "},{"start":117.82700000000001,"text":"Airbus also has a history of working with BAE on combat air and the two are partners on the pan-European Eurofighter Typhoon programme, which also includes Leonardo. "}],[{"start":127.87000000000002,"text":"Mike Schoellhorn, head of Airbus’s Germany-based Defence and Space business, said in an interview this month with business paper Handelsblatt that Airbus would insist on playing a “key role” in shaping the project. "},{"start":139.02400000000003,"text":"“We won’t just be making the fin or a wing,” he added. "}],[{"start":142.68,"text":"That view is shared by German officials, who stress the importance of an industrial agreement that secures a “fair” workshare, not only for Airbus but also for other German industrial groups including MTU Aero Engines. "}],[{"start":154.39000000000001,"text":"At the upcoming meeting, Airbus and BAE will also discuss alternative areas for co-operation such as on autonomous “collaborative combat aircraft”, according to one of the people familiar with the plan. "},{"start":165.23200000000003,"text":"Another would be the so-called combat cloud — the software architecture to connect aircraft with sensors, radars, drones and satellites. "}],[{"start":173.33,"text":"Germany’s other main option is Sweden, which offers a potentially more straightforward partnership on fighters with Saab, the builder of the Gripen jet. "},{"start":181.222,"text":"Airbus’s Schoellhorn said in the Handelsblatt interview that his company had “always had a good working relationship with Saab” and that it could be quicker to have just “two or three” big defence groups working together rather than “five or six”. "}],[{"start":192.96,"text":"However, Saab is doing exploratory work for the Swedish government on a next-generation project that would succeed the Gripen. "},{"start":199.739,"text":"With the jet expected to be in service until 2060, the country is under no pressure to make a decision. "}],[{"start":205.95000000000002,"text":"Airbus declined to comment but pointed to the recent remarks by Schoellhorn. "}],[{"start":211.03000000000003,"text":"BAE said the upcoming meeting with Airbus was “routine”, declining to comment further. "}],[{"start":215.79000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792994469_6107.mp3"}