Latest news with #TimHepher
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Airbus warns airlines that delays will last three years, sources say
Airbus is warning airlines that delays in deliveries will persist for another three years as it works through a backlog of supply chain problems, industry sources said. The cautious tone on deliveries was reinforced at a recent customer gathering in Toulouse and increases pressure on Airbus to demonstrate progress towards a goal of increasing production of its main model to 75 jets a month, they added. "Airbus is talking about delays to aircraft in both 2027 and 2028," a senior airline executive said, adding the delays were being communicated in piecemeal fashion every few months. Another source said aircraft due for delivery later this decade had already been pencilled in for a six-month delay. "There is no real sign of improvement," said a third person following a recent customer presentation. "We are working together with suppliers to mitigate the impact of the current situation on our customers," an Airbus spokesperson said. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Analysis-Global militaries to study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle
By Tim Hepher and Mike Stone (Reuters) - A dogfight between Chinese-made Pakistani jets and French-made Indian Rafale fighters will be closely scrutinized by militaries seeking insights that could offer an edge in future conflicts. A Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two U.S. officials told Reuters, marking a potential major milestone for Beijing's advanced fighter jet. The aerial clash is a rare opportunity for militaries to study the performance of pilots, fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in active combat, and use that knowledge to prepare their own air forces for battle. Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analyzed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets. Social media posts focused on the performance of China's PL-15 air-to-air missile against the Meteor, a radar-guided air-to-air missile produced by European group MBDA. There has been no official confirmation these weapons were used. "Air warfare communities in China, the U.S. and a number of European countries will be extremely interested to try and get as much ground truth as they can on tactics, techniques, procedures, what kit was used, what worked and what didn't," said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "You have arguably China's most capable weapon against the West's most capable weapon, if indeed it was being carried; we don't know that," Barrie said. The French and Americans would likely be hoping for similar intelligence from India, Barrie said. "The PL-15 is a big problem. It is something that the U.S. military pays a lot of attention to," a defense industry executive said. Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation declined comment and the MBDA consortium,, could not immediately be reached for comment on a French public holiday. SCANT DETAILS Western analysts and industry sources said crucial details remained unclear including whether the Meteor was carried and the type and amount of training the pilots had received. Arms firms would also be anxious to separate technical performance from operational factors, analysts said. "There will be audits of what works and what doesn't work, but I think the other overlay is the proverbial fog of war," said Byron Callan, a Washington-based defense expert and managing partner of Capital Alpha Partners. U.S. arms companies are getting constant feedback about how their products are working in the war in Ukraine, he said. "So I absolutely expect the same to be the case with India's European suppliers, and Pakistan and China are probably sharing the same feedback. If the PL-15 is working as advertised or better than expected, the Chinese would like to hear that." A defense industry source from a Western country operating the Meteor said an online picture of a seeker appeared to feature the component of a missile that had missed its target. There are conflicting reports on whether Pakistan has the domestic version of the PL-15 from the PLAAF, China's air force, or the lower-range export version publicly unveiled in 2021. Barrie, who has written extensively on the missile, said he believed that Pakistan most likely has the export version. A Western industry source dismissed claims that the rocket-powered PL-15 had longer range than the air-breathing Meteor but acknowledged that its capability "may be greater than was thought." The Meteor's range has not been officially published. "At the moment it's not possible to judge anything. We know so little," the industry source said. The PL-15's range and performance have been a focus of Western interest for years. Its emergence was seen as one of many signals that China had moved well beyond reliance on Soviet-era derivative technology. The United States is developing the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile via Lockheed Martin partly in response to the PL-15 and its beyond-visual-range performance - part of a broader reset of Western priorities toward China. European nations are exploring a mid-life upgrade for Meteor, which specialist publication Janes says could involve propulsion and guidance, but analysts say progress has been slow. U.S. President Donald Trump in March awarded Boeing the contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet yet, which would likely include stealth, advanced sensors and cutting-edge engines.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbus deliveries fell 8% in April
PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus said on Wednesday it delivered 56 aircraft in April, down 8% from the same month of last year. The tally brings deliveries so far this year to 192 aircraft, down 5% from the same point in 2024. The European planemaker last week reaffirmed a target of 820 commercial deliveries for the whole year, up 7%, despite delays in receiving engines - a situation that it said would get worse during the current quarter before stabilising in the summer. Airbus booked 11 orders in April, bringing the four-month total to 291 jets or a net total of 215 after cancellations. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Gianluca Lo Nostro. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Airbus deliveries fell 8% in April
A model of an Airbus Flightlab A380 is seen at the Airbus Jean-Luc Lagardere site in Cornebarrieu, near Toulouse, France, April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab PARIS, May 7 (Reuters) - Airbus ( , opens new tab said on Wednesday it delivered 56 aircraft in April, down 8% from the same month of last year. The European planemaker last week reaffirmed a target of 820 commercial deliveries for the whole year despite delays in receiving engines - a situation that it said would get worse during the current quarter before stabilising in the summer. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. Reporting by Tim Hepher. Editing by Jane Merriman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Share X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbus beats first-quarter forecasts, maintains targets
By Tim Hepher and Florence Loeve PARIS (Reuters) -Europe's Airbus posted stronger-than-expected revenues and core profit for the first quarter and reaffirmed targets for the year, while stressing it was too early to quantify the impact of tariffs. The world's largest planemaker said its widely watched adjusted operating income rose 8% to 624 million euros ($707 million) and revenues gained 6% to 13.54 billion euros in the quarter, led by defence which smoothed the impact of lower jetliner deliveries. Analysts had on average expected adjusted or underlying operating profit of 602 million euros on revenues of 12.95 billion, according to consensus data compiled by the company. Airbus also burned significantly less cash than expected. Boeing's European rival continued to project 820 aircraft deliveries for 2025, up from 766 last year, but cautioned these would once again be backloaded towards the latter part of the year as it faces supply chain problems. The company, which finalised an agreement on Monday to take over some factories of ailing Spirit AeroSystems, said the U.S. aerostructure supplier's difficulties were continuing to put pressure on the ramp-up of the Airbus A320 and A350 jets. It held output forecasts unchanged, however, and stuck with 2025 financial forecasts that include 7.0 billion euros of adjusted operating profit - a measure routinely used by Airbus to exclude gains and losses related to restructuring, currency and certain other factors. The 2025 forecasts include the impact of absorbing part of Spirit but not the uncertainty surrounding a growing tariff war. "We are closely monitoring and assessing the situation, but it is too early to quantify the (tariff) impact today," CEO Guillaume Faury said in a statement. Airbus said it was in "constructive" talks with purchasing nations for the A400M military airlifter, while studying the impact of the current state of orders on manufacturing plans. The A400M has been hit by delays, partial cancellations by European launch nations and slow exports, with the order pipeline expected to run out in 2028. But industry sources have said higher European arms spending could revive interest from buyers that have curbed deliveries, such as France and Spain. Airbus also announced new charges of 105 million euros related to the ongoing restructuring of its Defence and Space division. ($1 = 0.8821 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
