19 Oct 16. BAE Systems outlines benefits for Belgian Typhoon. BAE Systems and the Eurofighter consortium companies are looking to grow their engagement with Belgian industry as part of their offering of the Eurofighter Typhoon for a current Belgian Air Force requirement. It is expected that the Belgian government will invoke Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) relating to the security of supply of military equipment as part of its fighter replacement programme that was announced in 2014.
As a result, it is likely that competitors for the programme will have to provide the Belgian government with work packages and capabilities related to the procurement of the aircraft that are to be outlined in the forthcoming Request for Government Proposals (RFGP). As part of the anticipated RFGP, BAE Systems is looking to provide assistance for Belgian government and private firms to undertake maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) work on the aircraft as part of an anticipated wider offering on the programme.
Mark Parkinson, campaign director for BAE Systems’ Belgian Typhoon campaign, told IHS Jane’s that the Belgian government would be “establishing a relationship with the three largest aerospace and defence suppliers in Europe” through the Eurofighter consortium, which could help to build further opportunities for the country’s industrial base.
“If you look at the Eurofighter consortium companies, we already deal quite extensively with the Belgian supply base – there are nearly 200 companies we already have a relationship with. What we would look to do is continue to build on those relationships that we have, as well as dealing with the direct requirements of the programme that are expressed in the RFGP,” Parkinson said.
“The strength of the Eurofighter consortium is that we have all the intellectual property rights in the programme, and therefore – subject to the relevant export licencing and control – we anticipate we will be able to meet the Belgian requirements for security of supply for the platform and the weapon systems,” he added. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
19 Oct 16. TKMS to refit Portugal’s attack submarines. The Portuguese Ministry of National Defence (MoND) has authorised the country’s navy to award ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) contracts not exceeding EUR47.99 million to refit Portugal’s two Tridente class (Type 209PN) attack submarines
The first boat, NRP Tridente (S160), will be refitted in Germany 2016-2018, while TKMS and Portuguese state-owned shipyard Arsenal do Alfeite will co-operate to refit NRP Arpão (S161) locally in Portugal between 2018-2020. Systems Sunlight of Greece was also recently awarded a contract by the Portuguese Navy to replace the main batteries of the two Tridente-class boats.
The upgrade programme was laid out in Portugal’s latest Military Programming Law, approved in May 2015. The refit work is principally a maintenance period, rather than an upgrade.
The submarines are scheduled to later undergo a mid-life upgrade between 2022 and 2025. This will include the updating of the boats’ systems and has been valued at EUR106.12m by the military programming law. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Oct 16. Poland’s defense ministry has invited Airbus, Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit and Leonardo-Finmeccanica for talks about buying army helicopters worth about 1bn zlotys ($254m), the ministry said on Tuesday.
The invitations were issued after Poland scrapped earlier this month a preliminary deal with Airbus to buy 50 Caracal multi-role helicopters for 13.5bn zlotys ($3.4bn) after prolonged negotiations.
Sikorsky and Leonardo’s AugustaWestland had initially also taken part in that tender. Both produce helicopters at Polish plants in the cities of Mielec and Swidnik respectively.
“The talks concern buying helicopters in the framework of an urgent operational need declared by the armed forces of the Republic of Poland,” acting defense ministry spokeswoman Beata Perkow