Panavia Aircraft GmbH
| Industry | Defence |
|---|---|
| Founded | 29 March 1969 |
| Headquarters | Hallbergmoos, Bavaria, Germany |
|
Area served
|
UK, Italy, Germany |
|
Key people
|
Dr. Welf-Werner Degel Managing Director |
| Products |
Panavia Tornado Panavia Tornado ADV |
| Parent | Airbus Group, BAE Systems, Alenia Aeronautica |
| Website | Panavia |
Panavia Aircraft GmbH is a German company serving other countries which established by the three partner nations of the Tornado Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) project, West Germany, Italy and the UK.
The company was based and registered in West Germany. Since its founding the company is based in Hallbergmoos, a municipality in the district of Freising in Bavaria, Germany.
In a similar arrangement, development of the Tornado's RB199 turbofans is undertaken by the multinational Turbo-Union Ltd based in the UK.
The partner companies are
In the late 1960s, the British, German and Italian main defence companies looked at developing a strike aircraft together. The West Germans and Italians wanted a more short-range battlefield aircraft (something like the current A-10), but the British, specifically Air Chief Marshal Derek Hodgkinson, argued for a more long range aircraft. Negotiations took place in London, Bonn and Munich.
The NATO Multirole Combat Aircraft Development and Production Management Agency (NAMMA) was established to manage development and production of the Tornado. It was initially based in the same building as Panavia.
Panavia was established in 1969 by the British Aircraft Corporation, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (which had formed the year before) and Fiat Aviazione (which became Aeritalia that year). It was planned to produce more than 1,000 aircraft. An aircraft was needed to counter the perceived threat from Russian aircraft such as the MiG-25 Foxbat and the Su-15 Flagon aircraft, which had been in service since around 1967. A multi-purpose aircraft was needed to allow a long production run and to lower costs per aircraft (unit price). In 1970, the unit cost was expected to be only $2.9m.
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Wikipedia