RAF can't bear 'Grizzly' nickname

Source: www.abc.net.au
Date: 22Jul10

Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) is definitely not amused by the nickname provided by Airbus for its A400M military transporter - the "Grizzly".

The European planemaker held a baptism ceremony for the bulky troop transporter at the Farnborough Airshow this week, using the moniker invented by the plane's test pilots.

Paw prints were painted over the grounds in a marketing stunt to introduce the Grizzly to the global defence industry.

But air chief marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Britain's top air force officer, delivered a blunt veto from the RAF.

"It's absolutely appalling," he said.

"It has no provenance, no acceptance and it will enter RAF service with that name over my dead body."

The naming row risks embarrassment for Airbus, which has spent months fending off controversy over delays and billions of euros of cost overruns on Europe's largest defence project.

"The name is only for the prototype aircraft. The nations are free to select whatever name they wish," said Airbus Military spokesman Jaime Perez-Guerra.

Finding agreement on names for pan-European military hardware projects is a notoriously tricky diplomatic exercise.

Britain was accused of being insensitive in the 1990s when it decided to name the four-nation Eurofighter combat jet the Typhoon, after an RAF fighter-bomber which was used to attack German ground troops during World War II.

Air Chief Marshal Dalton said Britain had its own proposed name for the A400M, but this would be discussed first with its partners in the project: France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Britain has ordered 25 A400Ms, but is expected to cancel three of them as part of a deal to help absorb cost overruns.

I think everybody should embrace the new nickname. If nothing else, just to piss off ACM Dalton!!