Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says
The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran,A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet,France’s Safran, one of the world’s biggest engine-makers, is due to co-produce turbines for the aircraft,Its chief executive, Olivier Andriès, told reporters in London on Tuesday that relations were “very strained” between the lead partners on the Future Combat Air System (known as Scaf in France)However, he added that the offices of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wanted a solution,“Obviously the relationship between Airbus and Dassault is extremely difficult,” Andriès said.
“Have we reached a breaking point or not on the question? I can’t answer,“I know that on the political side there is still very strong willingness on the French president’s side as well as on the German chancellor’s side to strike a deal and to solve it,”The Scaf would be a so-called sixth-generation fighter jet, combining stealth abilities with advanced electronics and weaponry – as well as potentially flying alongside drones,It would be produced at the same time as the rival Global Combat Air Programme, or Tempest, which will be co-produced by Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the US’s F-47 fighter, to be built by Boeing,However, many analysts and industry leaders – including Airbus’s chief executive – have openly mused about whether separate European projects should duplicate efforts to build the planes.
Andriès said that cooperation in other parts of Scaf was nevertheless “very smooth”,Safran and Germany’s MTU Engines carried out detailed work to allocate responsibilities at the outset, he added,The chief executive’s comments came during a visit to lobby UK government ministers and express willingness to invest in Britain,Although headquartered in France, Safran employs 5,500 people in the UK in various acquired businesses making landing gear, flight control machinery, seats and other parts for civilian and military aircraft,Andriès said that the company’s electric motors in Pitstone, Buckinghamshire, would play an increasing role in trying to develop crucial magnets that are not reliant on rare earth metals.
Aerospace, defence and automotive manufacturers are scrambling to find alternatives to rare earths, after China, the dominant supplier, imposed export controls in retaliation to the US trade war,“Supply chains have been weaponised,” Andriès said,“‘How can we reduce our dependency on rare earths?’ is going to be one thema in the UK,”Sign up to This is EuropeThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environmentafter newsletter promotionThe company is also investing heavily in engine development in preparation for the next generation of civil passenger jets,Airbus and Boeing are both considering when to start formal development of a new single aisle plane.
Safran is the co-owner, with America’s General Electric, of CFM International, which is developing a disruptive “open fan” jet engine, unlike American rival Pratt & Whitney and Britain’s Rolls-Royce, which is aiming to break back into the single-aisle engine market,Andriès said Safran was looking at open fan and orthodox ducted designs, and was “getting prepared for every scenario” if the aircraft manufacturers chose to stick with similar designs rather than the “bolder” CFM idea,
Chop and change: pork is ‘new beef’ for money-saving Britons, report finds
Pork is the “new beef”, with Britons increasingly making the money-saving meat swap for dishes such as spaghetti bolognese or T-bone steak, according to a new report.With the latest official figures showing beef price inflation running at 27%, customers are looking to buy pork cuts that you would typically associate with beef. That list runs to free-range fillets and short ribs as well as T-bone and rib-eye steaks, Waitrose says in its annual food and drink report.Recipe searches for “lasagne with pork mince” have doubled on its website, while searches for “pulled pork nachos” are up 45%. Its sales of pork mince are up 16% on last year, as home cooks adapt favourite recipes
Australian economy crawls back into growth mode thanks to datacentre boom and household spending uptick
Surging investment in datacentres to fuel the AI tech boom and rising household spending on essentials like electricity and rents buoyed economic growth through the three months to September.National accounts figures showed real GDP expanded by 2.1% in the year, accelerating from 2% in June.Despite positive signs that the private sector is starting to drive economic activity after a period of strong government support, the quarterly pace of growth was a disappointing 0.4% – well shy of the predicted 0
Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says
The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran.A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet.France’s Safran, one of the world’s biggest engine-makers, is due to co-produce turbines for the aircraft. Its chief executive, Olivier Andriès, told reporters in London on Tuesday that relations were “very strained” between the lead partners on the Future Combat Air System (known as Scaf in France)However, he added that the offices of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wanted a solution. “Obviously the relationship between Airbus and Dassault is extremely difficult,” Andriès said
Tunbridge Wells water cut likely to last after treatment problem reoccurs
Water shortages in Tunbridge Wells that have forced schools and businesses to close look likely to continue for at least another day after the local water company said the problem with its plant had reoccurred.The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has said it will investigate.Thousands of homes in the Kent town have been without water since the weekend after South East Water accidentally added the wrong chemicals to the tap water supply.Schools across the area have been shut, and residents have been filling buckets with rainwater to flush toilets. Cats, dogs and guinea pigs have been given bottled mineral water to drink as the people of Tunbridge Wells wait for their water to be switched back on
Fiscal headroom is a matter of guesswork | Brief letters
Your editorial (The Guardian view on OBR v the Treasury: ministers have embraced the theatre of errors, 1 December) correctly flags the huge uncertainty in trying to come up with a five-year forecast of the difference between taxes and spending. Although markets like big fiscal headroom numbers, they seem to ignore the wise words of Bertrand Russell, who defined mathematics as “the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true”. This also applies to the concept of the medium-term fiscal headroom that economists and politicians alike are obsessed with.Prof Costas MilasUniversity of Liverpool The scrapping of the two-child benefit limit certainly seems to have polarised opinion. One camp reckons it should not have been scrapped at all, and the other reckons it should have been done a year ago
OBR chief’s exit may ease pressure on Rachel Reeves but the battle isn’t over
Had Richard Hughes not resigned as boss of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Monday amid the indignation over the accidental publication of Rachel Reeves’s budget, the Treasury might now be under pressure over the tsunami of leaks that preceded it.The OBR’s David Miles told MPs on Tuesday the leaks had been so widespread and misleading that the watchdog feared its reputation was at stake.Alongside briefings about the potential direction of OBR forecasts, there were public comments too, including from Reeves herself, about the frustrating timing of the watchdog’s productivity rethink; and its refusal to “score” pro-growth policies.Arguing for an ambitious “youth experience scheme” in September, for example – details of which are still to be negotiated – the chancellor told the Times, “we want the OBR to score it. They scored it when we left the European Union
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