The European Defence Agency (EDA) has announced its support in developing its member militaries’ future air mobility capabilities.
The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project will focus on the future medium-size tactical cargo (FMTC) and strategic air transport for outsized cargo (SATOC).
Bolstering European Strategic Transports
Work on the platforms will be conducted under PESCO’s fourth-wave efforts in partnership with France and Germany.
Project members for the FMTC program include Sweden and Spain, while the SATOC team includes the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
“[FMTC] aims at providing the participating Member States and industry with robust elements to decide what the 2035+ future of EU military tactical medium size transport fleets will be by defining common requirements for a new Future Mid-size Tactical Cargo,” a statement from EDA said.
“SATOC aims to fill the critical shortfall for strategic transport for outsized and heavy cargo, a crucial enabler for military missions and operations.”
“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has also underscored the importance of outsized and heavy cargo transport.”
‘A Joint Vision’
The effort will be conducted in the next two years and will gather associated requirements to “harmonize” the FMTC and SATOC assets of each participating nation.
Resulting solutions are expected to cut life-cycle costs, lessen design changes, prevent excessive versioning, and provide efficient timelines for services targeted at future FMTC and SATOC developments.
Meanwhile, EDA will produce guidelines highlighting fields and best practices that effectively support the project’s research and development.
“Defining common requirements is an essential step in order to allow project members to align towards a joint vision for the future medium-sized and outsized cargo aircraft,” the defense agency said.
“They prescribe the fundamental performance criteria and innovation level of the platform that is destined to be a crucial element in future military campaigns of Member States.”
“Furthermore, it will serve as basis for the work of European defence industry, starting with a feasibility study and proceeding with the design and prototyping of the new generation aircraft.”