Lessons from the programme
93. Collaborative defence equipment programmes, for
example Eurofighter Typhoon, have in the past often experienced
both cost overruns and delays. We asked how the lessons from such
programmes had been learned on the A400M programme. Mr Rowntree
said that in launching the A400M programme, efforts were made
to ensure that some of the inflexibilities and difficulties experienced
on the Eurofighter Typhoon programme were not brought into the
A400M programme. He said that:
On Eurofighter we had some inflexible arrangements,
such as fixed work shares between nations, and quite a bureaucratic
process. With A400M we are following what we call a commercial
approach, which is a fixed price contract with Airbus with key
delivery milestones, and once the contract is placed, the nations
really do not manage it by committee any more. It is the same
as a commercial Airbus product would be managed. It is then up
to the company to manage the programme and, in fact, we do not
have a fixed work-share arrangement.[139]
94. In its submission, the Royal Aeronautical Society
said that the acquisition of the A400M had not been one of Europe's
successes and "must hold some kind of all-comers record for
protracted development". However, it acknowledged that an
important breakthrough came when responsibility for developing
the aircraft was assumed by the Airbus consortium, as Airbus had
brought commercial discipline to the programme.[140]
95. Mr Francisco Fernández Sáinz, Managing
Director, Airbus Military Sociedad Limitada, had been involved
in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and considered that the arrangements
for the A400M programme were much better because "you have
one company, you have one agency, no interference from the nations".
However, he considered that the nine years to develop the specification
and to refine the A400M aircraft had been too long. He thought
that more money should be spent on the development phase of programmes
like the A400M.[141]
Mr Thompson considered that:
If there is a lesson to be learned, I think it is
that a single-phase, fixed-price, fixed deadline contract with
very little opportunity….for the customer to change his mind,
because of the shortness of the delivery period, is a positive
lesson to be learned".[142]
96. The
A400M programme is a European collaborative programme, but has
been structured in a way to avoid some of the problems experienced
on past collaborative programmes, such as Eurofighter. We recommend
that the MoD evaluate those aspects of the A400M programme which
have gone well, and those aspects which have gone less well, such
as the very long development phase, and ensure that the lessons
are applied to future collaborative programmes.
96 
