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State Aid approved for Airbus X6 helicopter development
The European Commission has approved EUR 377 million of French and German support to the development of the Airbus X6 heavy helicopter.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "The French and German support will stimulate considerable private investment in this project. The support will help bring a new generation of innovative heavy helicopters to the market, without causing undue distortions of competition."
Both France and Germany will provide public support for the development of Airbus' X6 helicopter project. The support will amount to a total of EUR 377 million in repayable advances granted over a period of eight years (EUR 330 million by France and EUR 47.25 million by Germany).
For the X6 helicopter project, Airbus will undertake significant research, development and innovation to develop a high-technology civil heavy duty helicopter. It aims to simplify access to platforms in the high seas, and also facilitate search and rescue, as well as humanitarian missions. The project is fully in line with the objectives set by the Europe 2020 flagship initiative for an Innovation Union.
