Pierre Perrin-Monlouis Dernière mise à jour: 20 octobre 2021
Airbus and Eurocopter make financial donations
Astrium provides detailed satellite imagery of the affected area to aid emergency relief on the ground
Defence & Security Division to provide tents for Sichuan
Eurocopter establishes crisis management cell for helicopters in rescue operations
Beijing, 21 May 2008
EADS, a global leader in aerospace and defence, is supporting the global emergency relief efforts in the province of Sichuan following the Earthquake on May 12.
Louis Gallois, CEO of EADS, said: “Our employees all around the world are eager to offer help to the victims of the earthquake, their relatives and the professionals and volunteers on the ground.”
Dominique Barbier, CEO of EADS China, added: “The EADS teams based in China have been extremely moved by the suffering of those affected by this disaster. We are already engaged in supporting the relief efforts in any way we can, by mobilizing our expertise in satellite imagery and geo-information, helicopter support, as well as through donations.”
Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus, has arrived in China for discussions with the local authorities, and will make a significant donation to the relief effort. He is assessing, with the Airbus China management as well as the EADS team, how to best employ the donations coming from EADS employees.
Astrium, the space venture of EADS, is a major provider of satellite imagery to the international community during times of natural disaster. For the earthquake in China, Astrium’s 100 percent subsidiary, the geo-information service provider Infoterra GmbH, and Spot Image SA, (in which Astrium holds a significant share), is acquiring data of the affected areas using their respective satellites, the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X and the French optical satellite SPOT 5 and distributing them to the emergency response teams.
Within seven hours after reception at the ground station, the first TerraSAR-X imagery was delivered to the users. At the same time, Infoterra and Spot Image experts in Europe and Beijing began evaluating and interpreting the data sets – enabling a delivery of detailed maps the following day. The data and maps are provided free of charge.
Since the 15th of May, over ten Eurocopter helicopters from Chinese Ministry Of Transport (1 EC225) and Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. (5 Super Puma, 5 Dauphin/EC155) have taken part in daily disaster relief operations from Guanghan airport. These helicopters have dispatched several tons of supplies and ensured casualty evacuation from remote villages located in the earthquake area.
Eurocopter has set up a special task force in China, which operates around the clock to support the main Chinese helicopter operators, Minister of Transport (MOT) and Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. Ltd. (COHC) with technical assistance, provision of spare parts and logistics needs. In order to support helicopter operations for its customers and as a gesture to the relief effort, Eurocopter is very proud to offer a significant donation to MOT and COHC to be converted into a special spare parts credit line or additional technical and logistics support.
Eurocopter and its subsidiary Eurocopter China are fully committed to contribute along with Chinese rescue teams to the best support of victims and disaster relief.
The Defence & Security Division (DS) of EADS will directly address one of the most urgent needs that the population of Sichuan is currently facing: Many people in the epicentre of the earthquake have become homeless now seeking protection. As the Chinese authorities have repeatedly stated that shelter facilities are one of the primary necessities DS supports the emergency relief efforts by sending a large number of tents.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2007, EADS generated revenues of € 39.1 billion and employed a workforce of about 116,000. The Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world’s largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and EADS Astrium, the European leader in space programmes from Ariane to Galileo. Its Defence & Security Division is a provider of comprehensive systems solutions and makes EADS the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium as well as a stakeholder in the missile systems provider MBDA. EADS also develops the A400M through its Military Transport Aircraft Division.
EADS Corporate Communications:
Pierre Bayle Tel.: +33 1 42 24 20 63
Gaëlle Pellerin Tel.: +33 1 42 24 22 54
Markus Wölfle Tel.: +49 89 607 34287
José María Palomino Tel.: +34 91 585 77 89
Jeremy Greaves Tel.: +44 20 78 45 84 19
