INDUSTRY TEAMINGS
16 Nov 07. French and British contractors announce progress in PA2/CVF co-operation. A step has just been achieved in the co-operation between the French PA2 aircraft carrier programme and the British CVF programme. French and British contractors involved in these programmes — DCNS and Aker Yards for France, BAE Systems, VT Shipbuilding, Thales Naval and Babcock Support Services for the United Kingdom — have confirmed their desire to co-operate by signing a co-operation agreement. This agreement is the result of the collaboration, to the benefit of these programmes, undertaken since early 2005. The agreement lays down the general provisions for co-operation for the Development and Manufacture and In-service support of the PA2 and CVF vessels. This agreement on the French and British carrier projects represents a new milestone between French and British naval shipbuilders.
Nov 07. Empower RF Systems Inc., the Californian manufacturer of solid-state, high-power RF and microwave amplifiers, has appointed Basingstoke-based Link Microtek as its distributor for the UK and Ireland. Founded in 1999, Empower offers a comprehensive range of high-power amplifiers utilising bipolar, MOSFET, LDMOS, GaAsFET and GaNFET device technologies. The amplifiers cover frequencies from 10kHz to 18GHz with power levels up to 2000W and are aimed at applications in telecommunications, broadcast, EMC testing, instrumentation and defence. Commenting on the agreement, Link Microtek’s managing director, Steve Cranstone, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers Empower’s excellent range of amplifier products. We can certainly see a great deal of potential for them in the UK market – one key area being multi-carrier technology, where the high linearity of the amplifiers makes them particularly suitable for use in systems such as CDMA, GSM, AMPS and TACS.”
21 Nov 07. QinetiQ is part of UK industry team for FRES bid. A team led by BAE Systems that includes QinetiQ, Cranfield University, GE Aviation, SAIC, and SELEX Sensors & Airborne Systems has been assembled to deliver a battle-winning fleet of medium-weight armoured fighting vehicles for the British Army. The team will compete for the role of Vehicle Integrator for the ‘Utility’ family of FRES, the first and largest element of the programme. The successful bidder is expected to take an overseas vehicle design, and customise, manufacture and support it through life to meet UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) requirements.
08 Nov 07. The Australian Department of Defence and the US Navy have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sets out the governing arrangements for a joint military communications ground station near Geraldton, Western Australia. The joint ground station will support the US Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), which is a satellite-based mobile phone network designed to support US and Australian military users, including deployed forces. The signing of this MoU completes a process that was first approved by the Government on 5 December 2005 and previously announced on 15 February 2007. This is in accordance with caretaker conventions. Works are expected to commence in early 2008 and the joint ground station is scheduled to become operational in March 2010. The new joint ground station will be collocated with the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station near Geraldton but will be managed separately. The new joint ground station will comprise three small buildings housing the electronic infrastructure; power and spares; three 18-metre satellite dishes; and two smaller antennas. Once complete, it will be unmanned and will require only call-out contractor maintenance support. It will be a joint Australia – US ground station; it will not be a US military base. The facility will be hosted as all other Australian-US joint facilities – on the basis of our full knowledge and concurrence. (Source: ASD Network)
19 Nov 07. Alco