06 May 03. EADS Board of Directors has approved today the recommendation by Airbus to choose the European consortium engine TP400-D6 for the A400M military transport aircraft as the overall better solution to meet customer requirements.

The Board of Directors met after the EADS Annual General Meeting in Amsterdam under the chairmanship of Manfred Bischoff and Arnaud Lagardère to review the two possible options for the choice of the engine of the A400M military transport aircraft.

After having heard the presentation of Airbus management and after a thorough discussion on both options, the Board of Directors unanimously decided to strongly advise Airbus to select the European consortium engine (TP400-D6).

EADS Chairman Manfred Bischoff said: “Both Pratt & Whitney and EuroProp International (EPI) have presented excellent proposals. We are grateful for this competition. However, we have decided to opt for the European consortium’s engine as the best overall solution and due to the substantial price efforts made.”

Arnaud Lagardere added: “For Europe, this is a major step forward. As new Chairman of the number one European aerospace and defence company, I’m proud to support it. We are confident that this decision will pave the way for the A400M programme start.”

Comment: EADS has rightly chosen a European engine solution for the A400M. This will cement the already strong technology existing between European engine manufacturers in aero engines now includes transport solutions already present on helicopters and fighters in particular. It will also speed up the consolidation of the second tier suppliers such as Fiat Avio and MTU.