ST Aerospace has announced that it has secured a contract to provide the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) with a full scale maintenance and modernisation solution for three of its C130 Hercules aircraft. ST Aerospace will undertake both modernisation and maintenance work at its facility in Paya Lebar, Singapore.
Hawker Beechcraft is furloughing workers on its T-6/AT-6 production line as it works through the most recent Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems (JPATS) contract. The company says it is currently on the contract for Lot 18 aircraft, but is in negotiations for Lots 19 and 20.
The second round of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom’s post shakedown availability (PSA-2) overhaul went a lot more smoothly than the first overhaul, PSA-1, in part because the U.S. Navy took a “phased” approach in scheduling maintenance tasks, according to the ship’s commanding officer. “We took a systems engineering approach,” says Cmdr. Tim Wilke. “We looked at second- and third-order effects of doing the jobs, taking a more holistic approach that I don’t know was taken in the first PSA.”
Though the Pentagon managed to dodge a bullet at the turn of the year, the specter of sequestration funding cuts still looms if a new deal is not reached in March, and U.S. Air Force leadership warns that readiness accounts are sure to be hit.
As the Pentagon and Obama administration look for more ways to whittle away at costs and budget requirements, the U.S. Navy is touting the need for continued surface warfare improvements. “Despite the current tenuous fiscal environment and the ever-changing political landscape of the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, our ships are relevant, credible sources of combat power throughout the world,” says Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, Navy surface warfare director, in a recent blog.
LONDON — Chinese interests continue to build up their aerospace portfolios, this time in the U.S. helicopter market with the purchase of light helicopter manufacturer Enstrom. The Michigan-based helicopter manufacturer, which has been producing helicopters since the late 1950s, was acquired by the Chongqing Helicopter Investment Co. (CQHIC).
LONDON — Cassidian and Northrop Grumman have completed the first flight of the Euro Hawk UAS since its delivery flight to Germany in July 2011. The Euro Hawk, now fitted out with its Cassidian-developed ISIS integrated signals intelligence payload, departed Manching airbase in Bavaria at 10:36 a.m. on Jan. 11 and returned six hours and two minutes later.
Terry Twigger, CEO of U.K.–based aerospace company Meggitt, has announced his retirement. Twigger, who has served as CEO for 12 years, will step down at the company’s next annual general meeting on May 1 and will be succeeded by Stephen Young, who has been finance director since 2004. In a statement, the company said Twigger will “continue at the company as an employee and provide support to the board and Stephen Young until his retirement on June 30.”
June 1, 2012 Tom Enders officially becomes CEO of EADS, succeeding Louis Gallois. Early summer 2012 Initial merger talks begin between EADS and BAE Systems, and European governments are briefed. Mid-August Tom Enders suffers a sporting accident injury that prevents him from accompanying German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a trip to China. Aug. 29
Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan has become a procurement “fixer” for the service, which has endured a decade of acquisition foul-ups resulting in thorny relations with top contractors.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), were presented with a challenge at the start of 2012: get their parties to agree to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget and deal with a series of tax extensions. Failing meant a likely recession caused by inaction, and election-year inertia only raised the stakes.
It is a yardstick often cited, given to market timing and not always related to profits. Nonetheless, Boeing is on track to win the orders “race” in 2012 and the title of “world's biggest aircraft maker.”
Boeing is considering lessons from giant retailers such as Walmart or Amazon, starting with a new approach to dealing with suppliers aimed at simplifying contract negotiations and lowering pricing for parts, according to company executives.
LONDON — Rising costs have pushed the U.K.’s A400M transport buy and its aerial refueling tanker to the top of a list of overspending military programs compiled by the National Audit Office (NAO).
LONDON — The U.K. Ministry of Defense is deciding on the future of a loitering munition that it has spent more than £200 million ($320 million) developing. According to the U.K. National Audit Office (NAO), the Fire Shadow, being developed by the U.K. Team Complex Weapons initiative and led by MBDA, has successfully completed a series of trial firings at a test range in Sweden. But the defense ministry halted a plan to send the weapon to Afghanistan in March because of what the NAO described as “system maturity.”
