14 Dec 10. Indian defense major Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Danish company Terma signed a strategic Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on cooperation in various fields of defense technology. The signing ceremony took place under the patronage of the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms Lene Espersen, who is in India this week to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The agreement sets the frame for current and future cooperation between the two companies, leveraging and complementing the unique strengths of the companies. Under the MoA, BEL and Terma will cooperate on naval radar technology and aircraft self-protection. (Source: ASD Network)

09 Dec 10. Rosoboronexport and Sagem (Safran group)signed an agreement to create a joint venture for inertial navigation systems, at the 15th session of the French-Russian intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation. The agreement was signed by Ivan Goncharenko, deputy director general of Rosoboronexport and Jean-Lin Fournereaux, Chairman and CEO of Sagem, in a ceremony attended by the heads of government of the Russian Federation and France. The new company will be based in the Russian Federation, with the Russian partner holding 51% and the French partner 49% of the capital.

13 Dec 10. Gama Group Limited has joined a partnership with leading British companies BAE Systems, Babcock Aerospace Limited and Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft Limited to offer a training aircraft availability service solution for the UK armed forces. BAE Systems will lead the bid to Ascent Flight Training, the UK MoD’s Training Service Partner, to be the Fixed Wing Aircraft Service Provider (ASP) for the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) programme. Under UKMFTS, the UK MoD has a requirement to provide a range of aircraft platforms and systems available to train aircrew across the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force. Gama is working with BAE Systems and its partners to submit an integrated proposal to Ascent in January 2011. The partnership has been created to provide Ascent and the UK armed forces with a flexible and harmonised service solution to support future flying training for elementary, basic and multi-engine disciplines over the next 25 years. Utilising its breadth of experience in the competitive commercial and business aviation market, Gama will lead all aspects of the multi-engine elements of the proposal, including platform selection and an optimised through life support service. Gama brings to the team 27 years’ experience running an established business aviation services organisation. Today it manages a varied fleet of 75 business aircraft from bases in Europe, to the Americas and the Middle East. Gama also provides a turnkey support service for the Scottish Air Ambulance fleet and retains a contract for current MoD operations.