The Russian Technology Office (RTO) of EADS European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company has been operational since October 2003 and has already initiated more than 30 research and technology contracts, with a further 40 projects for EADS and its business units under evaluation. This was announced by Daniel Deviller, the Chief Technology Officer of the European aerospace and defence group. “Because of its achievements in aerospace and the excellent education system, Russia is a partner of choice in research and technology for any aerospace company, and certainly for EADS,” said Deviller at the EADS Technology Forum in Moscow on Tuesday.
At the Technology Forum, the capabilities of the Russian scientific community were presented to the research and technology managers of EADS. “RTO is also an excellent example of how EADS uses Russian technology, thus bringing work to Russian institutes,” said Deviller.
Collaboration on research and technology between Russia and Western Europe is part of the Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which was signed between EADS and Russian authorities in 2001. This agreement is aimed at bringing benefit to both sides through joint activities in all areas of aerospace technology.
The RTO, headed by Marc Strechinsky, is located on the premises of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the largest research organisation in the country. The RTO’s main task is to facilitate cooperation with the Russian research and development community and act as the EADS focal point for scientific projects with all potential Russian partners. The RTO is embedded in OOO EADS, an EADS subsidiary according to Russian law, which manages all the Russian activities of EADS. Today, the scope of the RTO’s activities is focused on the areas of flight physics, chemical engineering, surface technology, structures, information technology (IT) and software design.
“IT is a Russian core competence,” said Marc Strechinsky. “It is the fastest growing field among the research and technology activities of EADS in Russia.”
The Technology Forum included a presentation of the capabilities of the software company ParallelGraphics, a partner of EADS and the RTO. ParallelGraphics is one of the first IT companies to emerge in Russia and provides Web3D graphics solutions for online training, remote user support, virtual manuals for technical maintenance and interactive applications for design and modelling.
Russian software developers, for example, support EADS in updating computer programs dating back to the 1980s. EADS also improves maintenance software with the help of Russian software engineers.
But software is not the only strength of Russia’s scientists. The importance of cooling of on-board electronics is growing with the implementation of new technologies, which generate more heat than those formerly used. Stechinsky: “The challenge is to cool down the electronics so as to be able to use off-the-shelf components. Here, too, we have found excellent Russian partners to help us solve this problem”.
The preparation of the technical specifications and the funding of a technology project set up by EADS RTO normally take three to six months. The duration of a programme is two years. Typically, each project initiated by the RTO employs six to ten Russian scientists from various institutes. The RTO, with its managers of Russian origin and long experience in the Russian scientific community, manages the projects.
Another element of the Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Russia and EADS is subcontracting work for Airbus, with progressive development of a supply chain from raw materials and semi-finished products to finished parts. At the Airbus Engineering Centre ECAR, which is the first engineering facility established by Airbus in Europe outside its home countries, some 100 Russian aviation engineers perform extensive work in disciplines such as fuselage structure design, stress analysis, systems installation and design work for serial activities for Airbus aircraft. Some 30 projects in research and technology are underway with the leading Russian research institutes and universities.
In partnership with the Irkut Corporation, EADS is marketing the Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft. EADS and Russia are jointly exploring re-entry technologies for spacecraft and preparing the launch of Soyuz spacecraft from the European launch pad in Kourou, French Guyana.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2003, EADS generated revenues of € 30.1 billion and employed a workforce of about 109,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
