The Romanian government is selling the majority share of its main military aerospace company, Avioane Craiova. More than 1.8 million shares, or 80.98 percent of the company, will be sold. Final and binding bids are due Nov. 24, according to the Romania’s privatization authority AVAS. The rest is held by smaller, private shareholders.
PARIS — Persistent delays on the Airbus Military A400M airlifter have forced EADS to take another earnings charge, this time of 341 million euros, and temporarily change accounting procedures because of the project’s uncertain situation. EADS, which is the largest industrial stakeholder in Airbus Military, blames “the unavailability of a committed and reliable schedule for the propulsion system.” However, EADS Chief Financial Officer Hans-Peter Ring also notes that the situation is compounded by other delays in equipment supplies and systems integration.
Raytheon has received its first government funding for work on a Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) concept designed to combat warheads and countermeasures from ballistic missiles. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) strategy for the MKV program is to develop competing designs in parallel. Lockheed Martin also is developing a concept, and Raytheon had been working on its concept using corporate research money. MDA this month announced Raytheon was awarded a contract worth up to $442 million for work through December 2011.
NEW DELHI — Bell Helicopter has dropped out of the running for the Indian army’s program to purchase 197 light helicopters. Speaking to Aerospace DAILY, a Bell spokesman cited India’s 50 percent defense offsets requirement as a reason for the move. Bell was short-listed for the program last year, but lost out to Eurocopter’s AS-550. But that procurement was subsequently scrapped and the request for proposals reissued (Aerospace DAILY, July 29).
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — U.S. Army aviation must invest in science and technology (S&T) to keep pace with increasing requirements or risk overloading pilots with streams of data, according to the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD).
Crew members on the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station (ISS) berthed an Italian-built cargo carrier to the station’s Harmony pressurized node Nov. 17, delivering some 14,417 pounds of supplies that include hardware necessary to increase the station crew from three to six.
LOADED FOR BEAR: U.S. Air Force and Pentagon officials are expected to get an earful from lawmakers about the holdup in buying more F-22 Raptors during a House Armed Services air and land forces subcommittee hearing Nov. 19. Congress approved $140 million for advanced procurement of 20 more Raptors and upgrades in the fiscal 2009 defense bill, but authorizers and appropriators are steamed because Defense Department officials have only approved spending $50 million for four aircraft — with plans to get the rest through a supplemental war spending request next year.
LORAL ORDER: Loral Space & Communications says its Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) unit has landed a new satellite contract from an unspecified major satellite operator. Together with an order revealed last month, also from an unspecified operator, SS/L now totals seven spacecraft awards for the year.
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are facing numerous challenges in adapting to a future security environment dominated by violent Islamic radicalism and other threats, but there may be opportunities for development as well, a new report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) suggests.
LONDON — Britain launched the fourth of its Type 45 destroyers, HMS Dragon, on Nov. 17. The second of the class, HMS Dauntless, has just begun sea trials. The United Kingdom is now buying only six Type 45 air defense destroyers, rather than the 12 envisaged at the outset of the program. Budgetary pressures are behind the reduction in the number of hulls.
MERGER DELAYED: The European Commission has requested additional information on a planned merger between Astrium and U.K. small satellite specialist Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL). SSTL officials say the request is only a technicality and does not in any way call the takeover into question. Final approval, initially expected by mid-November, is still anticipated before Christmas, they indicate.
The battle over how many F-22 Raptors the U.S. Air Force requires is revealing some nasty infighting as the White House administration change nears. The Defense Secretary staff has told Air Force planners not to talk to congressional staffers and to work only through the offices of Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and acquisition chief John Young.
The U.S. Defense Department and the congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) still disagree on the best way to manage and integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to a Nov. 14 report from the congressional auditors. GAO reviewed DOD’s efforts to improve the management and operational use of UAVs and assess the extent to which those efforts provide a proper organizational framework for oversight. Where GAO found DOD wanting, DOD did not concur.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) Nov. 17 - 20 — U.S. Coast Guard Innovation Exppo, Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Va. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings/9230 Nov. 17 - 21 — Eleventh Annual Directed Energy Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii. For more in formation call 505-998-4910 or go to www.deps.org
President-elect Barack Obama’s focus on ramping down the Iraq war and the record U.S. defense spending this decade continues to convince analysts that the next administration will curb – although not slash – the Pentagon’s access to the federal treasury. Continuously soaring budgets would have been unaffordable no matter which party entered the White House, they say in comments this week, but Obama’s election begins to make clear the potential winners and losers in the coming shakeout.
UAV POLICY: A national policy is needed to accelerate the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the U.S. national airspace, according to a Boeing executive. Neil Plazner, vice president of strategy for Boeing Air Traffic Management, says he’s heard “why [UAVs] are a good platform” for various missions, but “at some point, you’ll have to have a policy piece,” Plazner says. “Government agencies are reactive, not proactive. This needs to be national policy.”
South Korea is keeping alive its option on a second batch of three destroyers with Aegis air defense systems. The second ship of the first batch, Yulgok Yi I, was launched Nov. 14. The navy tells Yonhap news agency that building a further three ships remains under consideration. It is unclear whether the design would be the same.
ARH REVIVAL: Potential competitors for the Army’s revised Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) are surprised not to see a reference regarding the aircraft’s suitability for transport on the C-130 airlifter. The Army issued a “sources sought” notice earlier this month; the previous ARH program, won and lost by Bell, included a key parameter for the C-130. A C-130 requirement was thought to disadvantage options from AgustaWestland and EADS in the earlier competition.Both companies are considering bids to become prime contractors for the new effort.
BRIT LOGISTICS: The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) has invited Boeing’s subsidiary in the country, Boeing Defence UK, to compete for the 10-year Future Logistics Information Services (FLIS) delivery partner contract. As many as six industry teams, including Boeing, will compete toward a further downselect to three competitors next summer and a final contract award in spring 2010. The FLIS contract provides for a partnership with the MOD’s Defense Equipment and Support organization to sustain, develop and integrate information systems products.
SPREADING OUT: Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle builder Navistar is expanding its business around the globe. The company has been asked by the U.S. military to accelerate production and vehicle enhancements for its International MaxxPro Dash to meet requirements in Afghanistan, it was awarded a $24.8 million contract for MaxxPro gunner restraints and has sped up its production schedule for its lighter-weight Dash MRAP variant. The company has more than $3 billion in MaxxPro contracts under its belt since May 2007.
