DASA (officially Deutsche AeroSpace AG, later Daimler-Benz AeroSpace AG, then DaimlerChrysler AeroSpace AG) was a German aerospace manufacturer. It was created during 1989 as the aerospace subsidiary arm of Daimler-Benz AG (later

DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

) from 1989. The company acquired rival manufacturer

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West Germany, West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged ...

(MBB) that same year, integrating it along with its other aerospace interests, MTU München, and

Dornier Flugzeugwerke Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claude Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many designs for both the civil and military markets. History Originall ...

, by 1992. The company's existence was relatively brief due to the

peace dividend ''Peace dividend'' was a political slogan popularized by US President George H. W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the light of the 1988–1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, that described the economic benefit of a decrease in ...

of the 1990s having motivated industry-wide consolidation. During July 2000, DASA merged with

Aérospatiale-Matra Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) u ...

(CASA) of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to form

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

, which has since rebranded itself as ''Airbus Group''.

History

Helicopter EC135 taking off from Bonn university clinic helipad

DASA (from ''Deutsche Aerospace Aktiengesellschaft'') was founded on 19 May 1989 by the merger of Daimler-Benz's aerospace interests, MTU München, and

. During December 1989, Daimler-Benz acquired rival German aerospace consortium

(MBB) and merged it into DASA. During March 1990, Daimler-Benz initiated a major restructuring of the new group, integrating the previously separate companies into five product groups; Aircraft, Space Systems, Defense and Civil Systems/Propulsion. Several companies continued to exist under their own names but, by 1992, most (including MBB and TST) of the former entities had been fully integrated. During 1992, DASA's helicopter portfolio, which had been largely inherited from MBB, was merged with the helicopter division of French manufacturer

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

to form

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...

. The Bo 108, DASA's in-development helicopter derived from MBB's highly successful

Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ae ...

, was one of the assets transferred to the new company; it was launched as the

Eurocopter EC135 The Airbus Helicopters H135, formerly Eurocopter EC135, is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic flig ...

during the early 1990s to considerable similar commercial success.Pope, Stephen
"Eurocopter EC 135."
''Flying Magazine'', 18 May 2012. By 2014, Eurocopter, which was subsequently rebranded as ''Airbus Helicopters'', was a market leader in the field, operating four principal manufacturing plants in Europe (

Marignane Marignane (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the city of Marsei ...

and

La Courneuve La Courneuve () is a commune in Seine-Saint-Denis, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History Inhabited since pre-Roman times, the area is thought to have been a small village up through the Middle Ages. With its proximity to Par ...

in France, and

Donauwörth Donauwörth (; ) is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "R ...

and

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

in Germany), plus 32 subsidiaries and participants around the world, including those in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia,

Albacete Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...

, Spain and

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

, USA. As of that same year, in excess of 12,000 helicopters built by the company were in service with over 3,000 customers across roughly 150 countries. During the early 1990s, DASA became involved as a strategic partner of the Dutch aircraft manufacturer

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

, the latter reportedly being interested in expanding its footprint in the regional aircraft sector."Decisions, Decisions."
''Flight International'', 2 June 1992. pp. 35, 38. During 1993, it was announced that DASA purchased a 40 per cent stake in Fokker. However, by 1995, both Fokker and DASA were experiencing considerable financial difficulties, largely as a result of the extremely competitive nature of the regional market during this era. Fokker was forced to reduce production of its

Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of t ...

airliner; and embark upon a major restructuring programme, including efforts to renegotiate prices with its suppliers, in what was viewed by aerospace publication

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

as a last-ditch effort to save the company. During January 1996, DASA's board decided to distance the company from the struggling Fokker. At one stage, DASA had agreed to provide a rescue deal for the company, but this had been contingent upon a commitment by the Dutch government. QKD Do228

The poor state of the company's finances heavily contributed to DASA's decision to depart the regional aircraft market entirely.Jeziorski, Andrzej
"DASA folds its wings."
''Flight International'', 31 January 1996. According, during June 1996, it was announced that DASA had sold the majority of the assets of its former Dornier division to American aviation company

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 19 ...

, leading to the creation of ''Fairchild Dornier''. Furthermore, that same year, DASA announced that all manufacturing operations for the

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. 245 were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics ...

would be transferred to

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

(HAL) of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

; two years later, activity on the German production line was permanently terminated. These moves were intended to concentrate the company's resources on the production of the larger Dornier 328 airliner, as well as to respond to Dornier's wider financial difficulties.Eriksson, Sören and Harm-Jan Steenhuis
''The Global Commercial Aviation Industry.''
Routledge, 2015. , pp.59–62, 241. On 1 January 1995, the company announced that it had changed its name to ''Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG''. As a consequence of the

of the 1990s following the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, industry-wide consolidation increased. Following the merger of parent company Daimler Benz with American car manufacturer

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

during 1998, the company was renamed ''DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG'' on 7 November 1998. Management and politicians alike remained keen to form partnerships with other European companies in the aerospace and defense sectors. On 10 July 2000, it was announced that DASA (minus MTU) had formally merged with

of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain to form the

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been the ...

(EADS). Following the merger, the former DaimlerChrysler Aerospace division initially operated as ''EADS Deutschland GmbH''; following the rebranding of EADS as ''Airbus Group'', the division was formally rebranded as ''Airbus Defence and Space GmbH''.

Major projects

Immediately upon its creation, DASA was associated with several ongoing aircraft programmes, including the multinational

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Syste ...

fighter programme, the

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary #Variants, Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ...

fighter-bomber, along with various other initiatives and partnerships. The company's work on the Tornado was largely conducted via Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

(previously

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...

Aeritalia Aeritalia was an aerospace engineering corporation based in Italy. It was formed out of the merger of two aviation companies, Fiat Aviazione and Aerfer, in 1969. Aeritalia continued several programs of its preceding companies, perhaps most pr ...

of Italy, and DASA, having inherited MBB's involvement. Under this arrangement, DASA manufactured the Tornado's central fuselage on behalf of all international customers while the other partners manufactured the rest of the airframe.Segell 1997, p. 125. DASA's subsidiary MTU also held a 40 per cent stake in the Tornado's engine manufacturer Turbo-Union, a separate multinational company formed to develop and build the

RB199 The Turbo-Union RB199 is a turbofan jet engine designed and built in the early 1970s by Turbo-Union, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce, MTU and Aeritalia. The only production application was the Panavia Tornado, but it was used in the Bri ...

engines for the aircraft.Segell 1997, p. 124.Long, Wellington
"Swing-Wing Wonder Weapon Is Going Into Production."
''Ludington Daily News,''24 August 1976. Production of the Tornado was terminated during 1998; the final batch of aircraft being produced was delivered to the

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

, who had ordered a total of 96 IDS Tornados.Jackson et al. 1998, p. 241. DASA was also responsible for the mid life upgrade (MLU) of the German fleet of

s, similar to the RAF's GR4 upgrade. During the 1990s, the Eurofighter proceeded towards the mass production phase, DASA holding a workshare stake in the programme. The workshare split had originally been agreed at 33/33/21/13 (United Kingdom/Germany/Italy/Spain) based on the number of units being ordered by each contributing nations.''Eurofighter: Weapon of Mass Construction'' (TV broadcast). ''BBC'', 6 July 2003 airdate. However, following order cuts during the

following the collapse of the

, the programme's workshare split was renegotiated as 43% for EADS MAS in Germany and Spain; 37.5% for

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

in the UK; and 19.5% for Alenia. On 27 March 1994, the

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...

of the Eurofighter prototype took place in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger."1994: Maiden flight for future fighter jet."
''BBC News'', 27 February 1994. Retrieved: 19 March 2008. Production was divided into three tranches, these being a production/funding distinction without directly implying an incremental increase in capability with each tranche. Tranche3 was later divided into A and B parts.Hoyle, Craig
"Eurofighter partners sign €9 billion Tranche 3A deal."
''Flight International'' via ''flightglobal.com,'' 31 July 2009. Retrieved: 7 July 2012. In September 1998, contracts were signed for production of 148 Tranche1 aircraft and procurement of long lead-time items for Tranche2 aircraft. In March 2008, the final aircraft out of Tranche1 was delivered to the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

, with all successive deliveries being at the Tranche2 standard or above.Holm, Kathryn and Martina Schmidmeir
"German Air Force: 10,000 Flying Hours with the Eurofighter."
''Eurofighter.com'', 16 March 2009. Retrieved: 3 July 2011. Owing to its expertise with both German and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

aircraft, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace provided various upgrade packages for a wide range of aircraft, such as the

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

and the

Boeing E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weathe ...

. During 1993, ''MiG Aircraft Support GmbH'' was established with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace holding a 50% stake. The company undertook the upgrade of the German Air Force's fleet of 24 MiG-29s to

standards. These fighters had been inherited from the former

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

after the reunification of the country in 1991.

Aircraft

* Dornier 328 * Eurocopter AS355 Écureuil 2 *

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...

* MBB Bo 108 - became the Eurocopter EC 135 *

MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined light Utility helicopter, utility–transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki of Japan. MBB ...

* MBB F-104G/CCV (CCV Program)

Partnerships

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is Airbus' first production aircraft and the world's first Twinjet, twin-engine, double-aisle Wide-body aircraft, (wide-body) airliner. It was developed by ''Airbus Industrie GIE'', now merged into Airbus SE, and manufactured f ...

Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, Aircraft design process, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie GIE, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the Airbus ...

Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fami ...

Fokker 70 The Fokker 70 is a narrow-body, twin-engined, medium-range, turbofan regional airliner designed and produced by the now defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was developed during the early 1990s as a smaller version of the newly-dev ...

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet that was produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 was based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay tur ...

* MPC 75 *

* Rockwell-MBB X-31

References

Citiations

Bibliography

* * Jackson, Paul, Kenneth Munson, Lindsay Peacock and John W. R. Taylor, eds. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1997–98.'' London: Jane's Information Group, 1998. . *

External links

About Daimler-Benz Aerospace
{{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Defunct helicopter manufacturers of Germany DaimlerChrysler