LOCATIONS
17 Jul 06. The Boeing Company is expanding its presence in the UK with the establishment of a new facility in Bristol to support its growing defence business activities. The new facility, part of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Boeing Defence UK, Ltd., will be focused on supporting Boeing’s efforts on the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) programme. Boeing is actively engaged in discussions with the UK Ministry of Defence on the FRES programme, which is intended to develop a new family of medium-weight, network-capable armoured vehicles for the British Army. The company is supporting a number of FRES activities already underway and is committed to providing further in-country support as the Defence Procurement Agency refines its acquisition plan for this important programme.
18 Jul 06. Boeing and QinetiQ expand network-enabled capabilities in UK/US and establish a new permanent facility at Farnborough to deliver programmes. Boeing and QinetiQ officials announced that they are establishing a centre for collaboration and experimentation at QinetiQ’s Cody Technology Park site in Farnborough, UK. The state-of-the-art centre for demonstration and experimentation will offer customers the latest in modelling, simulation and analysis tools. These will be used to explore and understand implications of proposed systems in a real-time, dynamically-evolving environment. Commercial and military customers will be able to network live, virtual and constructive assets in a collaborative, immersive, development environment to define requirements, evolve capabilities and discover new technologies to meet their needs. They will also have the ability to trade off competing alternatives or “what if” scenarios while optimising design concepts and their performance within the overall ‘system of systems’.
20 Jul 06. Cobham’s Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mission Equipment Division has opened a U.S. support facility at Fort Walton Beach, Florida to support the AFSOC Combat Talon II programme, under which it supplied its 902E refuelling pods and digital refuelling control panels for the MC-130H Hercules. Cobham signed an interim contract support agreement with Boeing to support the equipment on the aircraft, and expect to enter a full contractor logistic support agreement in due course. The support centre will test and repair line replaceable units removed from the 902E system as well as holding a stock of spares.
12 Jul 06. Employees at Northrop Grumman Corporation’s newest production facility in Moss Point, Miss., are adding RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle fuselage subassemblies to their manufacturing portfolio. Just two years after breaking ground on its Unmanned Systems Center, Northrop Grumman installed Global Hawk tooling just in time for the facility’s grand opening in April this year. Despite destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, construction remained on schedule and on June 6, the Unmanned Systems Center crew began loading parts into the assembly jig for the 17th Global Hawk to enter production since the program began in 1995. (Source: Shephard)
PERSONNEL
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT
18 Jul 06. The Tennessee National Guard recently became the first National Guard Battalion to field the Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), helping the service meet its goal of fielding a lighter, more mobile and more flexible modular force Fires Brigades, while providing the latest warfighting technologies to the Army National Guard. “We are second to none,” said LTC Stan Coby, commander, 1st Battalion, 181th Field Artillery, Tennessee National Guard. “It took a great deal of coordination with multiple agencies…. We are ready to go!” The Battalion, under the command of LTC Coby, conducted the certification of its personnel on the HIMARS system by firing 72 rockets in a live-fire exercise at Fort Campbell, KY.
17 Jul 06. AFPAA and Veterans Agency to be integrated. From 1 April 2007 the A