Airbus H160 helicopter

空中客车H160直升机

Airbus is eyeing legal action against Japan’s ministry of defence after losing out on a multibillion-dollar deal to supply helicopters to the country’s ground self-defence forces, said people familiar with the situation.

知情人士表示，空中客车(Airbus)正考虑对日本防卫省采取法律行动，原因是该公司在向日本陆上自卫队供应直升机的竞标中败北，丢掉了价值数十亿美元的订单。

There was industry-wide surprise in July when the defence ministry awarded a contract to a consortium of Bell Helicopter of the US and Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries to supply 150 military helicopters to the self-defence forces.

今年7月，日本防卫省将一份向自卫队供应150架军用直升机的合同，授予了由美国贝尔直升机(Bell Helicopter)和日本富士重工(Fuji Heavy Industries)组成的联合体。此举令整个军工行业都感到意外。

The deal — estimated to be worth $2bn to the Bell-Fuji consortium — throws a lifeline to the Japanese group’s helicopter operations, which have been struggling to secure orders since 2007.

这笔对贝尔-富士联合体估计价值20亿美元的交易，为富士重工的直升机业务带来一线生机。自2007年以来，这家日本集团一直难以获得订单。

Airbus teamed up with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to bid for the contract, known as the UH-X programme.

空客则与川崎重工(Kawasaki Heavy Industries)结成了同盟，竞标这一名为“UH-X计划”的合同。

Legal action by Airbus against Japan’s defence ministry over the tender process is described by western diplomats and industry insiders as “one of several possible avenues of complaint” being considered by the European aerospace group. The Airbus-Kawasaki bid, which proposed a new version of the Airbus H160 helicopter, was seen as the strong favourite until just a few weeks before the defence ministry’s decision was unveiled.

西方外交官及业内人士称，空客就招投标过程对日本防卫省采取法律行动，是这家欧洲航空航天集团正在考虑的“几种可能申诉方式之一”。空客-川崎联合体在投标中提出了一种新版空客H160直升机(Airbus H160)。直到日本防卫省公布决定的数周前，它们的投标还被认为获胜可能性极大。

Bell-Fuji offered a cheaper, modestly modified version of the Bell 412EPI — a derivative of a helicopter that has been in use since before the Vietnam war.

贝尔-富士拿出的则是更廉价的小幅修改版贝尔412EPI (Bell 412EPI)。贝尔412EPI是一款从越南战争前就一直在使用的直升机的衍生版本。

Airbus declined to comment on the possibility of taking legal action against the Japanese defence ministry.

空客拒绝就针对日本防卫省采取法律行动的可能性置评。

However, some of its senior executives have alleged privately that the Japanese selection process was not transparent, may have come under political pressure and failed to give appropriate weighting to the future export potential of its proposed design, said people familiar with the situation.

不过，知情人士表示，部分空客高管私下里曾指责说，日方遴选过程不透明，可能遭遇了政治压力，而且未能对该公司设计方案未来的出口潜力给予适当的重视。

Richard Thornley, managing director for Bell Helicopter in Japan, said the Bell-Fuji proposal would deliver a cost-effective, capable and reliable replacement for the ground self-defence forces’ current fleet of ageing Bell-Fuji UH-1J aircraft.

贝尔直升机驻日本董事总经理理查德∠楽利(Richard Thornley)表示，贝尔-富士的方案会为日本陆上自卫队现有的日益老化的贝尔-富士UH-1J (Bell-Fuji UH-1J)直升机群，提供成本低廉、功能适用而又可靠的替换品。

A spokesman for the Japanese defence ministry declined to comment on any potential legal action by Airbus but said the selection process had been appropriate, fair and fully transparent.

日本防卫省发言人拒绝就空客可能采取的法律行动置评，不过，该发言人表示遴选过程适当、公平而且完全透明。

One industry veteran familiar with Airbus said the company may have lost the helicopter contract after lobbying by the US government on Bell Helicopter’s behalf. “When there is a US bidder involved there is always the feeling that pressure may have come directly from the US,” he added.

一位熟悉空客的业内资深人士表示，该公司可能是在美国政府为贝尔直升机展开游说后丢掉这一合同的。他补充说：“每当有美方竞标者时，总能感到美国可能直接施加了压力。”