Airbus Becomes "Innovation Partner" with Oracle Team USA for 2017 Defense
Aerospace Company to Help Develop New Foiling Cats for USA: Press Release

New York, October 23, 2014

Not James Spithill (L), Skipper of 2017 America's Cup Defender Oracle Team USA, greets Fabrice Br�gier, President and CEO of Airbus, as they announce a renewed partnership to share technical innovations.
 Image:�2014 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA
 

Joining forces in a mutual passion for performance excellence

Airbus, the world�s leading aircraft manufacturer and Oracle Team USA, the defending champion of the America�s Cup, have forged a technology partnership.

As Official Innovation Partner of Oracle Team USA for the 35th America�s Cup, Airbus will share the know-how of its engineers and experts in fields such as aerodynamics, instrumentation and simulation, composites, structures, hydraulics and data analysis to work with the Oracle Team USA design team.

�This is a completely new endeavor for us,� said Fabrice Br�gier, Airbus President and CEO.  �By taking on an extreme technology and sports project of this magnitude we stretch our competencies and further boost our agility.  There are so many similarities between the America�s Cup yacht and our aircraft design, that each partner benefits from an excellent platform not only to learn and grow but also to win.�

For Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill, the partnership will allow his team to benefit from the skill-set of a leading engineering group with experience working on the cutting-edge of technology.

�The America�s Cup is a boat race, but the design technology and engineering are very often the winning factor,� Spithill said.  �The new America�s Cup boats are lighter and faster than what we�ve had before.  They will be powered by a wing and will fly above the water on foils.  They�re as much like airplanes as they are like traditional boats, so I know we�ll have a lot to learn from the experience the engineers at Airbus bring to the project.�

Oracle Team USA first won the America�s Cup in 2010 racing a trimaran powered by one of the largest wings (223 feet / 68 meter) ever built.

In 2013, the team successfully defended its title in the AC72 class � wingsail-powered catamarans that flew above the water on hydrofoils at over 50 mph (90kph).

The next America�s Cup will be in 2017 and raced in the new AC62 class; a smaller, lighter and more finely engineered foiling catamaran than its predecessor that is expected to reach similar speeds.

�Everything we do in these boats is right at the edge of what�s possible,� Spithill said.  �For our design team to be able to have access to the resources of Airbus is going be a huge benefit to us.� 


�All at Airbus are very excited about this partnership,� concluded Br�gier.  �Our engineering teams� enthusiasm and engagement to be a part of this project is simply overwhelming.  The biggest challenge might be to bring them back working on airplanes again!�

--From Oracle Team USA/�Oracle Team USA
 

Also:
Oracle Team USA Official Site