06 Mar 06. Lockheed Martin or Boeing could terminate an agreement to merge their military rocket launch units if the deal is not finalized by March 31, under a clause in the contract. Spokesmen for Lockheed and Boeing say the companies remain committed to the United Launch Alliance venture first announced 10 months ago, and said the contract clause could be extended. But defense consultant Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said the long delay in approval for the merger had left executives at both firms with some second thoughts. (Source: Reuters)
06 Mar 06. A landmark agreement between the UK and French Governments on cooperation on aircraft carriers was signed in Innsbruck today by UK Defence Secretary John Reid, and French Defence Minister Madame Michele Alliot-Marie. The Carrier project will provide the UK Armed forces with the largest and most powerful warships ever constructed in the UK. Under the terms of the MOU, UK and France will co-operate on the demonstration phase work to produce a Common Baseline Design that will meet requirements for CVF and French requirements for its carrier, PA2. It is also intended to identify shared procurement opportunities. Ministers agreed in January the level of fee that France would pay together with their share of the demonstration phase costs. A French team has already been accommodated alongside their UK colleagues.
06 Mar 06. Raytheon Company is leading an industry effort to answer the military’s need for the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. Reflecting U.S. military requirements for a joint, interdependent military transport solution, Team FCA, composed of Raytheon and EADS CASA North America, recently changed its name to Team JCA. Team JCA is offering the combat-proven C-295 and CN-235 military transport aircraft for the mission requirements. More than 250 of these aircraft are in service around the world operating with allies and coalition partners. The aircraft are supporting ongoing coalition operations in Iraq as well.
06 Mar 06. Oshkosh Truck Corporation has added an armored vehicle to its stable of combat-proven military trucks. Under a licensing agreement with the vehicle’s developer, ADI Limited of Australia, Oshkosh Truck will market, manufacture and support the Bushmaster armored vehicle for North American customers as well as countries eligible for Foreign Military Sales.
06 Mar 06. Management at MAN, the German engineering and utility vehicles group, plans to expand its HGV activities through cooperation with other manufacturers. Hakan Samuelsson, head of MAN, said that there would be increasing numbers of partnerships in component activities. Mr Samuelsson plans to base further partnerships on the model of its strategic alliance with US rival Navistar. The two companies develop diesel engines together, amongst other activities.MAN revealed, however, that it was not interested in acquiring an 18.7 per cent stake in Swedish HGV manufacturer Scania. The stake in question is currently owned by German carmaker Volkswagen. MAN has been trying to set up a partnership with Scania for axels and gears for several years now. Alongside partnerships, MAN hopes that relocating production to cheaper countries such as Poland and Turkey will help it to achieve a return on sales of 6 per cent next year. Management also wishes to improve cost structures in order to guarantee sustained profitability. (Source: Original article by Thomas Fromm and Kristina Spiller/Abstracted from Financial Times Deutschland/FT.com)
06 March 06. Goodrich Corporation has entered into a teaming agreement to provide electronic flight bag and other related video solutions to Rockwell Collins. These video solutions will be applied to Rockwell Collins’ Flight Information Management System offering for military applications. The system solutions include cargo video surveillance, outside-the-aircraft video monitoring and recording systems, and a variety of other video systems used to enha