Aerospace companies in Europe are touting the operational experience of the Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale since the 49th International Paris Air Show in 2011, seeking to secure exports in emerging markets that could sustain production despite declining government spending, and a potential end to manufacturing lines this decade.
Canada's acquisitions of search-and-rescue (SAR) aircraft and naval helicopters have been dogged by delays, but the country's defense minister appears confident that progress is impending.
While the Paris static line will be dominated by major U.S. and European companies and their big-ticket programs, indoor exhibits and a good deal of discussion will revolve around the increasing globalization of the industry. While the big four—Europe and the U.S., and Brazil and Canada on the regional side—continue to fend off competition in the commercial world, the defense market may be more fluid.
In the latest in a string of high-profile defense-industry corruption cases, a European official is charged with trying to pay bribes to prevent his company, Rheinmetall Air Defense (RAD), from landing on India's blacklist, where it was placed after a previous alleged instance of corruption.
The most lethal-looking U.S. aircraft on the Paris flight line this week is the Iomax Archangel, a heavily armed Thrush 710P crop-duster. There are two large airlifters on show but neither is from the U.S.
There are not many aircraft like Grumman's S-2 Tracker. Built for carrier-borne anti-submarine operations, the aircraft was envisaged for the rough-and-tumble of life in a hostile environment.
Though the U.S. Air Force remains at odds with Congress over its plans to prematurely terminate the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 30 program, the service is making plans to deploy its younger cousin, the high-flying Block 40 aircraft, as soon as possible to support the war in Afghanistan.
The government of Niger is to extent a contract with French training provider DCI beyond the six pilots currently undergoing ab-initio training with the company
Roger Carr has been selected to take over from Dick Olver as chairman of the BAE Systems board. Carr, who is currently chairman of the Centrica energy company and was until recently president of the Confederation of British Industry, will join the board on Oct. 1 and succeed Olver in the first quarter of 2014. According to the company, Carr was a “unanimous choice” and his appointment had been “warmly endorsed by the entire board.”
As the weight of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) continues to be a major concern, top program officials are considering throttling back on the top speed requirements that have driven LCS development thus far, a recent draft U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says. Rethinking the speed of LCS could involve a major propulsion plant redesign. Eliminating key engines that now provide the ships’ top speed would add payload space but make the ship ultimately slower, GAO says.
Click here to view the pdf Fiscal 2014 Defense Spending Bill: Procurement Lines Cut by Appropriators Only($ In Thousands; Base Budget Only; Hac Numbers From Chairman's Mark) Fiscal 2014 Defense Spending Bill: Procurement Lines Cut by Appropriators Only($ In Thousands; Base Budget Only; Hac Numbers From Chairman's Mark)
The Pentagon has finally signed a $6.5 billion, five-year deal with Bell-Boeing for the next 99 V-22 tiltrotors — 92 MV-22s used by the Marine Corps and seven CV-22s for U.S. Air Force special operations forces. The deal covers five years of work through fiscal 2017 and will save $1 billion compared to buying the 99 aircraft in annual procurements, according to program officials. This savings figure is up from a target of $850 million espoused last year by the V-22’s program manager, Marine Corps Col. Gregory Masiello.
Raytheon is to upgrade four additional airport surveillance radars in the Netherlands to mitigate interference from wind turbines after completing the first upgrade to a radar near the largest wind farm in Europe, close to Schipol Amsterdam Airport. Under contract to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the company will upgrade primary radars at Leeuwarden, Volkel, Soesterberg and Twenthe air bases over the next 15 months. The first radar to be modified is operational at Woensdrecht air base. The radars are used for military and civil air traffic control.
BRAC SAGA: In their June 12 markup of the fiscal 2014 defense spending bill, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee unanimously agreed to an amendment calling for a report from the Pentagon on overseas facilities and their potential for consolidation — the latest in congressional efforts to avoid another round of domestic base realignment and closures (BRAC).
Despite the potential effects of further rounds of sequestration, the U.S. Navy remains intent on staying its strategic course — especially with its force rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific — although the service may have to cut down the scope of some of its planned exercises and operations, Secretary Ray Mabus says. “We are absolutely committed to the Pacific,” Mabus said June 13 during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington. “We are sending our newest ... assets there.”
As the U.S. Navy awaits the arrival of more Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) and Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs) into the fleet to conduct more cost-efficient anti-piracy missions and exercises, the service is relying on bigger ships for the tasks. The DDG-66 USS Gonzalez practiced joint maritime interdiction methods — the types used for anti-piracy, counter-smuggling and related missions — June 6 with the Tanzanian People’s Defense Force (TPDF) in the Indian Ocean.
NATO is hailing the latest test of the Eurosam SAMP/T air defense system against a tactical ballistic missile (TBM) as “the first European theater missile interceptor to achieve NATO interoperability.”
Turbomeca plans to grow the RTM322 turboshaft engine for new military helicopter applications after it completes the acquisition of Rolls-Royce’s share of the program. The €293 million ($382 million) deal is expected to close by the fall. The French engine maker, part of the Safran group, believes rotorcraft manufacturers will in the next decade develop heavy helicopters, above 10 metric tons maximum takeoff weight, requiring engines in the 2,500-3,000 shp range.
U.S. House appropriators are uniting again, uniquely, to try to keep the Pentagon from contracting with Russian arms seller Rosoboronexport to provide 30 Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan before the West largely withdraws troops from there next year. The development was one of many over the last few days on Capitol Hill as defense appropriators and authorizers pushed forward competing versions of annual spending and policy bills for fiscal 2014.
