On Monday 19 June, the European Commission approved Franco-German support to the Airbus X6 helicopter project, as it will help to “bring a new generation of innovative heavy helicopters to the market”, according to European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.
The two states will provide public aid to the European company of more than €377 million in the form of repayable advances granted over a period of eight years. France has pledged €330 million and Germany €47.25 million.
Airbus will make significant investments in terms of research, development and innovation with the aim of developing an innovative and high-technology civil heavy duty helicopter. The finished product will have a higher range of action and its fuel consumption will be lower than that of the current generation of helicopters.
This will simplify access to platforms on the high seas, and also facilitate search and rescue operations and humanitarian missions.
The European Commission considered that the aid provided would certainly help to stimulate new investments in a sector in which international competitors are currently investing. It also found that the “project's exposure to systemic and atypical risks (…) and the magnitude of the initial investment necessary to start the project make self-financing in the absence of public support very unlikely”.
The Commission therefore concluded that the Franco-German measures, which will make a significant contribution to research and innovation in the EU whilst not unduly distorting competition within the EU, comply with EU rules on state aid.
Speaking from the 52nd International Paris Air show in Le Bourget, the French minister for transport, Elisabeth Borne, hailed the announcement as a major “decision for the future of the European aeronautical industry”, adding that the X6 would have “considerable industrial knock-on effects for Airbus Helicopters and its entire chain of suppliers in Europe”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)