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On the record with Jens Bauer, Vice President & CEO of EADS Mobile Systems

February 6, 2008

 

For Jens Bauer, EADS’ strengths as a world-leading supplier of shelter systems come from the company’s years of operational experience, its system integrator expertise, and a constant focus on the key elements of mobility, protection and self-sustainability.

Bauer brings extensive industry and military experience to his role of managing EADS’ mobile systems activity, including executive positions at Siemens, EADS and its predecessor companies; as well as service in the German Armed Forces (where he maintains the rank of Captain in the German Army reserve).

In the following interview, Bauer outlines his view of TransHospital’s capabilities for the U.S. Army’s future mobile hospital needs, as well as the company’s value-added approach in developing its Russellville, Arkansas facility into a center of excellence for integrated shelter systems.

Question:  How does EADS’ TransHospital® respond to the U.S. Army’s Future Medical Shelter System (FMSS) requirement?

Answer:  Our TransHospital proposal benefits from the operational use of EADS mobile hospitals and other shelter-based systems with armed forces around the globe – including the support of NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo.    In Afghanistan alone, more than 30,000 outpatients and 4,000 inpatients have been treated in TransHospital facilities, including NATO soldiers and civilians.

We are constantly using feedback from international TransHospital users to further evolve our systems, taking into account real-world experience with the more than 500 various shelter modules we’ve delivered during the past 15 years.  This experience not only results in a TransHospital design that is robust, highly integrated and extremely mobile, but which features low operating and maintenance costs as well.

Another key advantage is EADS’ experience as a systems integrator.  As I often point out, we don’t simply build shelters…we develop systems.  This starts by defining the mission and operational needs, and is followed by an in-depth refinement of the system requirements.  We then work down to the subsystems and components levels.  When all of this comes together, we have a highly integrated system with strong elements of commonality and interoperability.  In addition, we can customize on a highly standardized level, and we take into account the system’s entire lifecycle from the operational, logistics and maintainability points of view. 

Question:  What are the company’s plans for the EADS North America Integrated Shelter Systems’ facility in Russellville, Arkansas?

Answer:   Our goal is to create an integration center of excellence at Russellville, with a maximum involvement of the area’s small- and medium-sized companies in terms of electrical, mechanical and electronic capabilities.  This is a real value-added approach, where EADS provides our shelter systems experience and knowledge, teaming up with companies in the region where we have established our U.S. presence.

We’ve already developed an excellent relationship with the business and medical communities in Russellville and Arkansas.   For example, the modules to be evaluated in the Army’s next series of field tests were prepared by local workers in Russellville, and we have reached out on several occasions to the city’s St. Mary’s Hospital, whose staff has been extremely helpful.

Question: What is EADS’ production capacity for TransHospital and its other shelter-based systems?

Answer: We have a highly active – and continuous – capability for our shelter system design, development and manufacturing.  This not only guarantees the capacity needed to respond to our growing customer order book, it also ensures we have the expertise available to integrate even the most complex systems.

In addition to the ongoing TransHospital production, we have a number of other very exciting programs underway.   EADS won a major contract to develop a shelter-based brigade command post from the German Army Command, which involves 40 units in the first production batch, with more to come.  This integrated command, control and communications system involves the extensive integration of servers, screens, cabling and other command post equipment into an expandable container. 

This was followed by our selection to supply 50 shelter-based mission preparation centers to support the German Army’s rotary-wing aircraft fleet.  For the Tiger attack helicopter, shelters shielded against electromagnetic interference are utilized for tactical mission planning – including crew briefing and debriefing, flight route preparation, etc.   We also are developing mission preparation centers for the German Army’s NH-90 and CH-53 multi-role helicopters.
 
Another project that underscores our capabilities is a shelter-based ground station for the Euro Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which is a Northrop Grumman/EADS joint effort based on the Global Hawk.  This demonstrator station will serve for mission preparation and Euro Hawk guidance, and includes a control console for the ground-based pilot.

I also am very proud of TransProtec ®, which we developed in response to the growing threats for troops during ground transportation.  This highly cost-effective armored shelter is integrated on trucks, and protects 18 soldiers against IEDs (improvised explosive devices), ballistic fire, anti-tank mines and shrapnel.   We are delivering 20 systems to the German Army – which already has deployed them in the Balkans and Afghanistan, and TransProtec also has been ordered by the Danish Army.  We now are working on a TransProtec version that will be equipped in a medical version to transport injured soldiers and casualties in high threat areas.