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Military - in brief (4)

01 November 1998

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French propose three-way merger: Aerospatiale chairman Yves Michot has proposed a three-way merger between his company, British Aerospace (BAe) and Daimler Benz Aerospace (Dasa) as a step towards forging a giant European aviation and defence group. This was seen as a bid to head off the risk of a BAe-Dasa alliance being set up behind France's back. Earlier the Financial Times had reported that BAe and Dasa were close to announcing a merger. The report was denied by Dasa and BAe, but the French saw it as part of a campaign to pressure their government into fully privatising state-owned Aerospatiale. Jane's Defence Weekly, 21.10.98.

Belgium will not enter Helios 2 project: Belgium has joined Germany and Italy in pulling out of the French-led $2 billion Helios 2 project for a military observation (espionage) satellite entering orbit in 2002. This leaves only Spain inside in a scheme that had originally looked like attracting several European partners. Helios 2 should be the follow-up for the Helios 1 project that France launched in 1995. It is of great importance for an European intelligence capacity independent from the US. In response to the German move, France cancelled its participation in the Horus radar satellite that Germany and France had agreed on for 2007. Jane's Defence Weekly, 4.11.98.

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