NEW DELHI — Confirming early reports, India on Dec. 5 officially announced that Boeing’s Chinook CH-47F tandem-rotor helicopter has been chosen for the Indian air force (IAF), besting the Russian Mi-26. “In the proposal initiated by the IAF for the procurement of 15 heavy-lift helicopters, Boeing with [the] Chinook helicopter has emerged as the L1 [i.e., lowest-bidding] vendor,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “The cost of the contract would depend upon outcome of the contract negotiation with the L1 Vendor, which has not yet concluded.”
LONDON — The Spanish government has given the green light for its navy to buy a pair of surplus U.S. Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopters. Madrid will spend €24.5 million ($32 million) on the two aircraft, which are being purchased as an interim measure because of the delayed service entry of the naval version of the NHIndustries NH90 helicopter. Agreement on the purchase was reached by the Spanish government’s Council of Ministers on Nov. 30.
EADS shareholders and the governments of France, Germany and Spain yesterday agreed a new ownership structure for Europe’s biggest aerospace group after five days of intense negotiations. The complex agreement sees France and Germany each holding stakes of 12% in EADS and Spain a further 4%, changing a structure that provides France 15% and Spain 5.6%.
SINGAPORE — Eurocopter has delivered the first two of 12 EC725 helicopters ordered by the Malaysian air force. The pair of aircraft were presented during a Dec. 3 ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Eurocopter says, adding that “Malaysia is to receive a total of 12 EC725s through 2014.” The country’s air force plans to use the helicopters for search and rescue and utility missions, Eurocopter says.
FIXING PRICES: Alan Chvotkin, vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council, says contractors under fixed-price awards may ironically fare better than contractors under cost-plus and other types if the budget penalty known as sequestration kicks in next year. “Agencies know that changes to fixed-price contracts actually cost them more in the long run,” said Chvotkin at Deltek’s recent FedFocus 2013 conference in McLean, Va.
HAIFA, Israel — Some of Israel’s missile designers say their new advanced missile defense systems — like Iron Dome and David’s Sling — are so sophisticated that they may likely mark the end of an era as the last large, kinetic missiles to be developed. They may well parallel the F-35’s Joint Strike Fighter’s role as the last stealthy, manned, strike fighter.
Bell Helicopter and AAI, both owned by Textron Systems, are kicking off demonstrations in a new, company-funded laboratory facility intended to improve the manned/unmanned interface for the U.S. Army as it struggles with reduced budgets.
NEW DELHI — India plans to buy 28 Dornier Do228 twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft for its navy and air force from state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). “There is a proposal to procure 14 Dornier aircraft from HAL for the purpose of training pilots of the Indian air force [IAF],” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “Additionally, there is also a proposal to procure two more Dornier aircraft, modified to calibrate navigational aids at IAF airfields. Besides, [the] Indian navy has a plan to purchase 12 Dornier aircraft.”
AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, (FA2103-13-C-0006) is being awarded a $178,575,114 cost-plus-incentive fee contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase 1 of the B61-12 Tailkit Assembly. This contract also includes a priced option for (EMD) Phase 2 and price goals for the production phase. The location of the performance is St. Louis. The work is expected to be completed by October 2015. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/EBBC, Eglin AFB, Fla.
Cyberwarfare, long-range strike and undersea systems all fared well in a recent budget exercise performed by a group of experts tasked with sketching a path forward for the Pentagon under a reduced top line. Organized by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the exercise assumed a replacement for sequestration that changed the implementation but not the goal. In making cuts, the participants could set priorities, and change the implementation slope, but had to reach the same spending target.
PARIS — Europe’s stealthy Neuron unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) completed its first flight Dec. 1 from the Istres test center in southern France, marking a major milestone for the technology demonstration project and paving the way for flight test campaigns in Italy, Sweden and France.
LONDON — The Spanish government has announced it will send a trio of Eurocopter EC665 Tiger attack helicopters to Afghanistan. The decision, which comes days after the German government gave the green light for the operational use of its own Tigers, was announced by the Spanish army’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Jaime Domínguez Buj. Three of the army’s fleet of six Tigers will be deployed to Herat in Afghanistan’s western region, where 1,500 Spanish personnel are currently serving.
BUYOUT APPROVED: Shareholders of commercial satellite imagery provider GeoEye approved a proposed buyout Dec. 3 that will leave the company’s chief U.S. competitor, DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colo., operating the world’s largest fleet of high-resolution Earth imaging satellites. Under the terms of the merger, GeoEye shareholders can opt to take 1.137 shares of common stock and $4.10 per share in cash, a 100% cash payment totaling $20.27 per share, or 100% in stock, with each GeoEye share worth 1.425 shares of DigitalGlobe stock.
Contractors selling professional services and information technology to the federal government — particularly the Pentagon — should get used to meeting lowest-price, technically acceptable (LPTA) requirements, contracting consultants at Deltek say.
