EUROPE
LAND
20 Jul 06. Britain is to develop a missile that “loiters” above the battlefield before striking moving targets as part of a deal to protect its complex weapons industry.The deal, possibly worth £500m, has been awarded by the Ministry of Defence to a team of companies led by MBDA, the European missile group, without being opened to international competition.
20 Jul 06. Pinzgauer’s latest model improves protection for UK troops. British troops on patrol in dangerous foreign operations will be better protected thanks to the development of a new Protected Patrol Vehicle. The enhanced 6×6 Pinzgauer Protected Patrol Vehicle (PPV) has been developed with additional features to protect the lives of soldiers on operational duties overseas. Under the UK MoD’s ‘Project Vector’ the new vehicle will provide greater protection, mobility and payload than those currently offered by other in-service patrol vehicles. Building on the existing proven design, the enhancements will include a combination of physical protection as well as the use of sophisticated electronic counter measures to maximise survivability while on patrol. Production is due to start in the autumn at Pinzgauer’s bases in Guildford, Surrey, and Fareham, Hampshire.
SEA
19 Jul 06. Cobham Flight Operations and Services business, FR Aviation, has been selected by UKAMS Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of MBDA UK Limited, to provide aerial targets against which the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Destroyer’s weapon system will be tested.
AIR
17 Jul 06. Barco has been selected by Lockheed Martin UK, Ltd., London, to deliver over 80 units of its TL-361 rugged display to be used inside the Royal Navy’s Merlin MK 1 helicopter. The 24-inch TL-361, the new member of Barco’s family of thin and lightweight rugged displays, is especially suitable for airborne platforms and will be used as the mission display inside the Merlin helicopter. The delivery fits into the Royal Navy’s Merlin Capability Sustainment Program (MCSP) and holds the possibility for customer support for the next 30 years.
20 Jul 06. Cobham’s Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mission Equipment Division (AR&AME) has been awarded a further order for air refuelling systems on the South African and Malaysian tanker versions of the A400M Military Transport Aircraft, in a contract worth more than £7m. The order for sixteen 908E wing dispensing pods will be supplied to eight tanker aircraft with deliveries scheduled to commence in 2010. This latest order follows the €85 million order in December 2005 to supply wing pods and fuselage refuelling units for the Air Forces of France, Germany and Spain and is further endorsement of the Division’s fourth generation equipment which can operate across a broad speed envelope, enabling refuelling to a range of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
19 Jul 06. Cobham’s Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mission Equipment Division has been awarded a contract to supply the Hungarian Air Force with its NATO Multi Mission Launcher (NMML) for integration onto it’s recently acquired Gripen aircraft. The contract worth more than £3m covers the supply of 45 NMML rails, and a comprehensive support package that includes test sets, spare parts, ground service equipment and end user training. This will be delivered through November 2007. The NMML, is Cobham’s latest generation advanced rail launcher and has a digital interface enabling a mixture of short and beyond visual range missiles to be carried without the need for role change. The launcher can be attached directly to a pylon or attached via a release unit and is fully compliant to NATO standards.
19 Jul 06. FMV chooses Saab for AEW Upgrades. Saab Aerotech and the Swedish Defense Material Administration (FMV) have signed an agreement for the upgrade of two S100D (Saab 340AEW-200) aircraft currently operated by the Swedish Armed Forces to a new international inter-operational standard. The order is valued at 105m Swedish Krono