Airbus Group, Inc. (formerly EADS North America) represents the North American activities of European multinational aerospace company
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
. Headquartered in
Herndon
Herndon may refer to:
People
* Herndon (surname), an American surname
* Herndon Davis (1901–1962), American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter
Places in the United States Communities
* Herndon, California, an unincorporated commun ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, this American arm of the company participates in U.S. Department of Defense programs, in some cases as a prime contractor. The American unit operates under a Special Security Arrangement which allows it to work independently on some of the most sensitive United States defense programs despite its foreign ownership. It employs approximately 3,200 people and had 2011 revenues of $1.3 billion.
Paul Pastorek
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, former Louisiana state superintendent of education, is chief counsel and corporate secretary.
In the United States, Airbus Group, Inc., oversees several subsidiaries including
Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (AHI) is a subsidiary of Airbus Group, Inc., the United States subsidiary of Airbus. Airbus Helicopters manufactures and markets a broad range of civil helicopters. With large facilities in Texas and Mississippi and ser ...
, Cassidian Communications, Airbus Military North America, Fairchild Controls, and EADS North America Test and Services. With locations in 29 U.S. cities and 15 states, these entities provide fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft for commercial and military customers, land and maritime detection and border security technology, emergency call processing and notification solutions, defense electronics and avionics, and services.
History
Since its creation in 2003, Airbus Group Inc. has expanded its footprint through acquisitions and selection in competitions for military aircraft and systems.
In 1974
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...
took full control of Vought Helicopter and in 1976 renamed it Aerospatiale Helicopter Corporation.
In 1979 work began on a new helicopter facility in
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it t ...
.
* 2002: Grand Prairie facility underwent name change to Eurocopter
* 2003: Grand Prairie facility became part of EADS North America as subsidiary American Eurocopter
* October 2004: EADS North America acquired Racal Instruments (now part of EADS North America Test and Services)
* October 2004: Opened 85,500 sq. ft. helicopter production facility at
Golden Triangle Regional Airport
Golden Triangle Regional Airport is a public use airport in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The airport is located approximately midway between the cities of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point, Mississippi, and serves the surrounding Golden Tria ...
, Mississippi
* November 2005: Acquired Talon Instruments (now part of EADS North America Test and Services)
* June 2006: Selected with Sikorsky as prime contractors for Light Utility Helicopter
* February 2007: Opened Airbus Engineering Center in
Mobile, AL
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama, ...
.
* July–August 2007: Selected to provide unmanned aerial targets DT-35 and DT-45 to U.S. Army
* February 2008: Selected with prime contractor Northrop Grumman to provide KC-45 tanker to U.S. Air Force (award was later cancelled under protest)
* April 2008: Acquired
Temecula, CA
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...
-based emergency response technology provider Plant CML
* October 2009: Announced expansion of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Delivery Center at the Mobile Regional Airport
Plans for a
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
aircraft assembly plant were formally announced by Airbus CEO
Fabrice Brégier
Fabrice Brégier (born 16 July 1961) is a French business executive. He was appointed president and chief operating officer of Airbus on 1 January 2017. He is on the executive committee of Airbus, which operates Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Air ...
on 2 July 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the
Brookley Aeroplex
The Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley is an industrial complex and airport in Mobile, Alabama, United States, which lies adjacent to the western shore of Mobile Bay. It is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority. It was known by a variety of n ...
for the assembly of the
A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. It could employ up to 1,000 full-time workers when operational.
Construction began on 8 April 2013, and will become operable by 2016, producing up to 4 aircraft a month at full production.
Light Utility Helicopter
![UH-72A at Pentagon in 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/UH-72A_at_Pentagon_in_2011.jpg)
Airbus Group Inc. is a prime contractor to the U.S. Army on the service's new
UH-72A Lakota
The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145, built by American Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters, Inc.), a ...
Light Utility Helicopter. The Lakota is based on the commercial EC145. Under terms of a contract awarded in June 2006, Airbus Group Inc. has already delivered more than 200 out of a planned 351 aircraft.
The latest order under the Army's contract, for 32 Lakotas in Fiscal Year 2011, brought total orders to 219. This includes 214 rotary-wing aircraft for the U.S. Army and five already delivered aircraft for the U.S. Navy. The Army is targeting a total acquisition of 346 helicopters through 2016, for a total of 351 from both services.
Homeland security and homeland defense
EADS was listed by Homeland Security Today in April 2011 as the #11 supplier to the Department of Homeland Security and, within the Department, the #2 supplier to the U.S. Coast Guard. Of note, the company's aircraft make up 54% of the Customs and Border Protection helicopter fleet and 71% of the Coast Guard's helicopter fleet.
Airbus Group Inc. is the prime contractor on the HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft, a key element of the U.S. Coast Guard's modernization program. The Coast Guard plans to buy a total of 36 Ocean Sentries; to date, 13 have been delivered. Also serving the Coast Guard is Airbus' H-65 Dolphin helicopter, which is particularly well-suited for search and rescue, fisheries patrols, maritime security, border patrol, monitoring illegal immigration, and drug interdiction.
Its UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters operate with U.S. Army and National Guard units, providing search and rescue, disaster relief, drug interdiction and medical evacuation services from coast to coast. Other rotary-wing aircraft from Airbus Group's American Eurocopter subsidiary are flown by U.S. Customs and Border Protection along more than 10,000 miles of the nation's borders, as well as by the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
,
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
, and law enforcement agencies across the country.
Airbus Group Inc's subsidiary, Cassidian Communications, provides emergency notification services, emergency call centers and public safety radio systems. Cassidian Communications has nearly 600 employees in California, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama and Canada. Its products and services provide security for more than 200 million U.S. residents.
The company's multifunction TRS-3D radar has been selected and deployed on both the Coast Guard's National Security Cutter and the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship. The TRS-3D is a lightweight radar that performs surveillance, self-defense, gunfire support, and helicopter control.
Other security programs currently undergoing development for the U.S. market include
* The man-portable SONEX-P, which is able to detect both the presence and location of hidden chemical, radiological and explosive threats in minutes with the push of a button.
* ECTOCRYP BLACK, a purpose-built, high-capacity voice encryption device that enables secure voice communications among geographically disparate users and between unclassified and secret networks.
U.S. Air Force KC-45 Tanker
EADS North America teamed with then-prime contractor
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
to win the KC-X aerial refueling tanker competition in 2008, however the contract was successfully appealed by
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
.
Following Northrop Grumman's withdrawal from the subsequent procurement in 2010,
the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
indicated it would welcome a bid from EADS North America as prime contractor. EADS North America submitted a compliant proposal in July 2010. In February 2011 the Air Force announced it had awarded the contract to Boeing, and EADS North America chose not to protest.
The KC-45A would have been based on EADS'
A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport, itself a derivative of the
A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
commercial jetliner, and would have been assembled in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
.
Facilities
Since its formation in 2003 it has expanded existing facilities in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, and built three new facilities in the U.S.:
* Columbus, Miss.
*
Mobile Regional Airport
Mobile Regional Airport is a public/military airport west of Mobile, in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority, a self-funded entity that receives no local tax dollars.
The N ...
, Ala.
* Airbus Engineering Center, Ala.
See also
*
Defense contractor
The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...
References
External links
*
American EurocopterCassidian CommunicationsEADS North America Test and ServicesFairchild Controls Corporation{{Airbus Group
Aerospace companies of the United States
Defense companies of the United States
Technology companies established in 2003
Companies based in Fairfax County, Virginia
2003 establishments in Virginia
American subsidiaries of foreign companies