Hosted by the National Aviation Authority of Portugal (Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional, AAN), the Annual Military Airworthiness Conference kicked off in Lisbon this Wednesday with keynote speeches delivered by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq and General Manuel Teixeira Rolo of AAN.

The two-day event (5/6 October) brings together key stakeholders from national authorities, industry, European agencies, NATO and international organisations for presentations and discussions on a variety of topics related to harmonization of military airworthiness requirements , implementation experiences and integration into a global context.

In his speech, Mr Domecq stressed that standardisation, including in the area of airworthiness requirements, was a “key enabler” for the implementation of the EU Global Strategy. “The application of common standards and recommended best practice is a key enabler for defence cooperation and helps strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial base. Most importantly, from a defence perspective, such standardisation would support effective cooperation and improve interoperability”, he said.

He also recalled that since the establishment of the Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum, a lot of work has been done particularly in the area of European Military Airworthiness Requirements, the EMARs. “With the EMARs that are now developed, nations have created a baseline for a common approach to processes like certification, organisational approvals and the preservation of airworthiness”. However, “a real common approach can only be established if EMARs are also implemented in a uniform way, which is a national responsibility of the Member States”, he stressed.

Based on an earlier EDA funded study by Eurocopter, it is estimated that the adoption by Member States of optimised and harmonised military airworthiness regulations through the European Military Airworthiness Requirements would deliver a reduction of up to 50% of the development time and at least 10% of development costs up to initial-type certification. Significant further cost savings could also be achieved during the in-service phase.