The recent prominence that the A400M has had in humanitarian missions to Kabul has once again aroused interest in the development of the aerospace sector in Andalusia, hand in hand with the military industry
The situation in Afghanistan has shown the potential of platforms such as the A400M, an aircraft capable of operating in complex environments and whose assembly is carried out at the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Seville. In this sense, Antonio Gómez-Guillamón, president of the Andalucía Aerospace cluster, highlighted in the program El mirador de Canal Sur, that it is a key moment for the industry, since the media exposure that these aircraft have had, “will logically awaken the market and possible sales (…) this will allow the industry that we now have to generate employment, economic benefits and that it can be maintained for many more years, even beyond 2030, “he said.
“Certainly they were planes with a humanitarian mission, but within a warlike environment.” This was stated by Gómez-Guillamón, stressing in turn that operating an aircraft with the capacity to carry out a humanitarian mission of this nature and, at the same time, having the capacity to respond to any conflict, was an imperative need. In that sense, the A400M made clear its ability to live up to the requirement.
Take off from Andalusia
The A400M is a true emblem for all of Andalusia and specifically for Seville, as the president of the Andalusia Aerospace cluster has shown, who also recalls that the aerospace sector in the region is much more than a model airplane.
“We forget to think that Seville is today the world center for military transport planes or humanitarian logistics planes.” Gómez-Guillamón affirms, highlighting in turn that if there is something that characterizes the Andalusian region, it is having the main companies in the sector on its land.
The challenges of the sector
The defense sector at the European level “is taking very firm steps to jointly advance new and future military technologies.” For this, it is essential to take on the challenge of international development by companies in the Andalusian aerospace sector that “have all the capabilities” to take on this challenge, according to Gómez-Guillamón.
Another challenge is that of innovation and that of providing differential value to “our products and our technology”. Specifically, the president of the cluster referred to the reduction of carbon emissions, a challenge that has the magnifying glass on the sector.
You can listen to the full interview here from minute 50 ‘.
