JUST how vital aerospace is to Lancashire's economy and its future is seen today from developments at the prestigious Paris Air Show.

For not only was a consortium of 130 firms from our region bidding for new orders, kingpin company British Aerospace was also unveiling a stunning transatlantic tie-up in a bid for the multi-billion dollar order for the 21st century's warplane - while fighting to keep alive a vital £35 billion European project on which 70,000 jobs and the UK aeroplane industry's future depend.

It is a intriguing and crucial situation.

That is because, just as we see a Lancashire trade union leader warning in Paris that unless the giant four-nation Eurofighter programme's production phase is given the go-ahead by the cash-strapped German government, Europe's air defence will be handed to the USA, a key player in that warplane project, BAe, is teaming up with a US manufacturer in a bid to help build America's next generation fighter, the JSF.

No doubt BAe is as wise to spread its business base as it is keen to, for what is afoot in international aerospace is essentially a battle between Europe and the US for dominance in both civil and military aviation - and on it thousands of jobs in Lancashire depend along with the future of UK and European aerospace. But as BAe announces that it has teamed up with the American giant Lockheed Martin in a £500 million contract to produce two concept demonstration aircraft that could pave the way to an order for the 3,000 JSF aircraft for the US military and Britain's Navy, the threat to the future comes from Germany's hesitancy on the Eurofighter.

If that project were to be delayed or collapse as a consequence, America's warplane builders would soar to the forefront as the west's, if not the world's, military aircraft manufacturers.

The consequent loss of so many high-tech skills would, in turn, would also weaken Europe's position on the civil aviation front in which America is already the dominant player.

The fact that work on the Airbus range of commercial aircraft now represents more than half the turnover at BAe's 3,500-employee military aircraft works at Samlesbury gives a telling insight into the inter-dependence of warplane and civil aviation technology and the fact that Europe's aerospace industry needs an anchor now.

For though confidence is strong among the Lancashire firms at Paris today and though the Lockheed-BAe link-up is "one hell of a deal," for the future to be guaranteed, Germany must make the Eurofighter fly.

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