EUROPE
SEA
29 Mar 11. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine business unit has signed a full production contract for the Integrated Navigation Bridge System (INBS) for the U.K.MoD’s Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier Programme. The company also signed a design phase contract for the Navigation Lights, Shapes and Sounds (NLSS). Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine will build and deliver the complete INBS, including electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS-N (U.K.)) for the new aircraft carriers. The system will include navigation planning, electronic charts and radar displays, as well as a comprehensive set of sensors and software. The contract also provides for equipment integration and testing. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in 2018. Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine has already completed the initial design phase of the contract, including change requests, and is currently designing a Navigation Light System under an option in the production contract.
AIR
25 Mar 11. Aero Vodochody received a contract from Saab Aeronautics to produce pylons for the Swedish and Thai Air Forces. Under the contract, Aero Vodochody will produce 54 fully assembled, tested and installation-ready pylons of free types. The pylons will be installed on multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by Saab, including JAS-39 Gripen aircraft. Pylons are used for weapon systems and are located at the bottom of the aircraft wing. Work will take place from October 2011 to December 2012. (Source: airforcetechnology.com)
29 Mar 11. Cobham will provide Chaff and Flare Defensive Aids Systems for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet Tranche 3A programme, under a contract worth more than £18m (approximately 21m Euros). Deliveries will begin in mid 2012 to sustain production until the end of 2014. The Eurofighter’s Chaff and Flare Defensive Aids System comprises dispensers which release infrared flares to defeat heat seeking missiles and chaff to disrupt radar guided missiles. The Cobham supplied system is an aircraft baseline requirement, integral to the defensive capabilities of the Eurofighter. As a Eurofighter supplier company, Cobham is the system integrator for the chaff and flare equipments which are delivered to aircraft assembly facilities through Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company, acting in the role of prime Eurofighter Partner Company (EPC) under work share arrangements.
29 Mar 11. DutchAero Services has signed a public / private partnership agreement with the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of military engines. The main goal of the agreement is to guarantee the current work on the F100 engine till the end of service of F-16 aircraft and to reduce MRO costs for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The partnership will also help Air Base Woensdrecht to qualify as a future regional support centre for the propulsion system of the replacement of the F-16 aircraft. The MoD aims to preserve the knowledge and expertise of the F100 engine maintenance to continue the role of smart maintainer/buyer in military engines through the agreement. (Source: airforcetechnology.com)
28 Mar 11. Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill has won a three year contract worth just over £1m to retrofit and repair complex cable assemblies on the U.K. WAH-64 Apache LONGBOW Fire Control Radar (FCR). Previously, the cable assemblies were refurbished at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Florida, having been shipped from the Special Repair Activity facility at RAF Wattisham, in Suffolk. The new in-country capability will provide several programme cost benefits for the UK Ministry of Defence, including minimising shipping times, eliminating import/export issues, significantly reducing turnaround times and providing associated cost benefits. Under the new arrangement, Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill will be able to retain skills and expertise in