Airbus Slams EU as Brexit Leads U.K. to Quit Key Defense Program
(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE blamed the European Union for the U.K.'s decision to quit the Galileo satellite-defense program, after the country was denied a central role in the 10 billion-euro ($11 billion) project after Brexit.
The move will deal a “serious blow to the EU's common security and defense ambition,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said in an Airbus Twitter post. Airbus's U.K. arm has carried out extensive work on Galileo since its inception and Britain has plowed 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) into the system's development.
“Don't those talking about a European army know that the U.K. is one of only two serious military powers in Europe?” Enders said. Britain and France are the most active military players in the region, while Germany and others have limited their role in outside conflicts.
Britain said on Saturday it won't use Galileo for defense or critical infrastructure applications, and will instead develop its own system to guide military drones, run energy networks and provide location services for civilian cellphones. It will also continue to access the U.S. Global Positioning System, which Galileo aims to rival when fully operational in 2026.
Areas of Friction
Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has previously been critical of the U.K. on other Brexit-related issues. Galileo emerged as an area of friction after the EU sought to exclude Britain from its most secure elements, and bar U.K. companies from bidding for contracts.
Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this year announced a 92 million-pound, 18-month program to design and develop Britain's own satellite navigation system, possibly via the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Britain has also committed 2 billion pounds to funding a concept fighter plane after France and Germany indicated it could be excluded from one being developed by Airbus and France's Dassault Aviation SA. Airbus later sought to downplay that possibility, saying a combat jet built without British defense giant BAE Systems Plc wouldn't be as good.
--With assistance from Alex Morales and Benjamin Katz.
To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Jasper in London at cjasper@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Andrew Noël
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
