Fifteen Republican senators are asking President Barack Obama to withdraw the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to be secretary of defense. The senators, led by John Cornyn (Texas), are rejecting Hagel based on his support for the legitimacy of the current regime in Iran, his thoughts on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and his performance during his confirmation hearing.
EADS is revising its goal for equal revenues from its civil and defense programs by 2020 after failing to finalize its merger with BAE Systems and accounting for cuts in government defense spending. But the European manufacturer has yet to decide on a new target and the future direction of its Cassidian defense business. “There is nothing magical about the 50/50 [goal],” EADS CEO Tom Enders told Aviation Week after a Feb. 21 event at New York’s Wings Club, adding that a new target will be determined after a strategic review is concluded.
LONDON — BAE Systems has reported a fall in earnings and warned that some of its key business areas are likely to suffer further in 2013. In its 2012 results, the company said that U.S. defense budgets had “flattened” and were expected to remain constrained in response to reducing overseas operations in Afghanistan and “measures to address federal deficits.”
Pentagon UAV investments have been on the rise, ranking 46th among all non-construction-related Defense Department expenses in 2011 — the first time in recent years such expenses have cracked the top 50, according to an exclusive Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis. The Pentagon cost category “drones” reached $1.5 billion in contracts and contract modifications, according to AWIN’s analysis of contracting data aggregated by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting.
The Pentagon spent years studying how to navigate the effects of budget cuts on its industrial base. Now, cuts are likely to be imposed on the Defense Department, which will have little ability to manage them, officials fear.
ABU DHABI — Saab officials say they are open to ideas about additional expansion in the Middle East following the successful creation of a new subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi Advanced Radar Systems (ADARS) was formed by Saab in partnership with the UAE defense holding company Tawazun earlier in February with the express purpose of developing new radar systems for the Middle East market. But Micael Johansson, Saab’s senior vice president for electronic defense systems, says the opportunities don’t just end with radars.
BENGALURU — Thales’ joint ventures in India are structured to give the French conglomerate an edge when competing for defense contracts in the country. The company’s managing director for India, Eric Lenseigne, says Thales recently announced two major joint ventures with Indian companies: Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Samtel. Thales has capped its stake at 26%, in line with India’s foreign ownership laws for defense companies. But Lenseigne says this also means that the work these Indian joint ventures do qualifies for offsets.
ABU DHABI — The UAE military has debuted a super-heavy multiple launch rocket system fitted to an articulated transport vehicle. The Multiple Cradle Launcher is a 10-wheel trailer fitted with four unguided rocket-launching cradles. The system, which was developed for the UAE army, was produced by Jobaria Defense Systems over three years in the UAE and delivered to the army last year.
ABU DHABI — The Iraqi navy is interested in buying the Bell UH-1Y Huey to protect its shoreline and critical oil installations. According to Steve Schultz, director of international business development at Bell Helicopter, the Iraqi navy has a requirement for between six and eight utility helicopters. A decision is likely later this year. “The Iraqis only have a small coastline, but they have a lot of energy facilities to look after,” said Schultz, who hopes a navy purchase could spur interest in other branches of the Iraqi military.
NEW DELHI — India will take a “second look” at its policies on defense production and procurement to lessen reliance on imported weapons and avoid controversies such as the bribery scandal surrounding the AW101 helicopter deal with Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland. Defense Minister A.K. Antony is urging defense forces to transform their approach of relying on imports to meet operational requirements and instead give priority to indigenization in the defense sector.
SERVICES RENDERED: Wall Street analysts continue their downgrading of U.S. aerospace and defense stocks, with SAIC one of the latest to be named. Analysts Robert Stallard and Steven Cahall of RBC Capital Markets tell investor clients that SAIC and other service providers will be on the losing end of so-called sequestration budget cuts in years to come.
ABU DHABI — A UAE investment firm and a Serbian defense company are partnering to create a coastal defense missile system. Emirates Advanced Research and Technology Holdings (Earth) and Serbian defense company Yugoimport SDPR are planning to work together to produce the Advanced Light Attack System (ALAS), a wire-guided, ground-launched missile being developed to deal with small vessels and land targets.
ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) military is set to become the first operator of the new General Atomics Predator XP unarmed UAV. The deal was announced unexpectedly by UAE officials at the IDEX defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 18 as part of a 5.2 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion) series of contracts. Additional contracts are expected to be announced in the coming days.
ABU DHABI — Italian business aircraft manufacturer Piaggio and Selex Electronic Systems are working together to produce an unmanned variant of the P-180 Avanti executive turboprop aircraft.
ABU DHABI — The South Korean armed forces are looking to broaden their use of UAVs to increase surveillance on their northern neighbors. New “heavy” (HUAV) and “medium” (MUAV) unmanned systems are planned for purchase before 2020. Officials are also exploring the potential of more sophisticated and specialized systems after 2020, including aircraft that could conduct electronic warfare missions, according to Maj. Gen. Hwang Jong Soo, deputy chief of staff for force planning in the Republic of Korea army.
CONTRACTOR SUPPORT: Congressional auditors have found that U.S. combatant commands (Cocoms) and their components are not planning for the potential use of contractors in overseas combat theaters for functions beyond logistics. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report shows that, despite more than a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that saw unprecedented reliance on contractor support to the military, the Cocoms have only just begun to incorporate operational contract support into their planning.
AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill., (FA8538-13-D-0001) is being awarded an $11,067,296 firm-fixed-price contract for testing and repair of the F-15 aircraft electronic systems test set interface test adapters. The location of performance is Rolling Meadows, Ill. The work is expected to be completed by Feb. 10, 2018. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2018. The contracting activity is 638 AFSC/PZAAB, Robins AFB, Ga.
AIR FORCE ACENT Laboratories L.L.C., Long Island, N.Y., (FA8650-13-D-2331) is being awarded a $48,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for Enhanced Operability Scramjet Technology. The locations of the performance are Manorville, N.Y.; Sacramento, Calif.; Elkton, Md.; Laurel, Md.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Dayton, Ohio. The work is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2020. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012. The contracting activity is Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
