FRANCE, BONN REACH ACCORD ON HELICOPTER DESIGN
France and West Germany have reached
broad agreement on design specifications for a joint combat
helicopter for the 1990s, the French Defence Ministry said.
    A ministry spokesman said French Defence Minister Andre
Giraud and his West German counterpart Manfred Woerner had
"agreed in principle" on a common concept for the helicopter
during talks in Bonn on Friday.
    A joint commission will now be formed to work with firms
involved in project and present a final report by July, he
added.
    The project, first drafted in 1984, calls for the French
company <Aerospatiale> and <Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm> of
Munich to develop and build 400 helicopters for the French and
West German armed forces.
    Its development, seen as a test of Europe's ability to
collaborate on arms projects, has been dogged by different
views on what type of helicopter to build and how to equip it.
 REUTER
