MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
18 Jun 07. The most advanced warship in the world to date, HMS Daring, will depart on her maiden voyage exactly one month from today, bang on schedule for delivery by the end of 2008. The Daring Class Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyer is designed, built and assembled by BAE Systems on the Clyde with bow sections being towed up from VT Group’s facilities at Portsmouth to be joined to the rest of the hull. HMS Daring, launched by HRH the Countess of Wessex in February 2006, is the first of class of the most capable warship of her type ever built. She is due to leave BAE Systems’ Scotstoun yard for the first time to begin sea trails on 18 July. She will complete her trials off the west coast of Scotland and will be put through her paces by BAE Systems engineers and Royal Navy personnel, who will form her permanent crew. Speaking ahead of the sea trials, BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions managing director Vic Emery said; “This is a very exciting period for BAE Systems, the MoD and the Royal Navy. As a first of class and, more importantly, the most advanced warship of her type, all eyes will be on HMS Daring as she heads out to sea for the first time.
18 Jun 07. EADS will bring a big part of its UK corporate defense systems research capability to its Newport, Wales base. The EADS Innovation Works UK program will further develop the company’s technological innovation capability through closer links with the UK Government and leading Universities, which will bring between 40 and 60 high-tech jobs to Wales over the next five years. Innovation Works UK will initially concentrate on EADS UK’s key strengths in technology for advanced secure communications, simulation of complex systems, software engineering and advanced wing design and manufacture. EADS partners include the Welsh Assembly Government, Regional Development Agencies, and leading Universities of Cardiff, Bristol, and Southampton. Wales First Minister Rhodri Morgan said today: “I am delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government, through its Knowledge Bank for Business, has played a pivotal role in developing this new initiative. (Source: Google)
21 Jun 07. China’s state-owned aviation company AVIC I wants to buy or invest in as many as six aircraft-parts factories in Europe owned by Airbus. China Aviation Industry Corp. I, known as AVIC I, in China already makes wing components and nose sections for the single-aisle Airbus A320 and parts for landing-gear bays of the superjumbo A380. The company also produces a regional passenger jet, the ARJ21, and has ambitions to build a large commercial airliner that it hopes could one day compete with products of Airbus and Boeing Co. Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., announced in February that it is seeking buyers or partners for six factories in France, Germany and Britain to reduce overhead costs as part of its “Power8” restructuring plan. Airbus unveiled Power8 as a strategy to cope with the weak U.S. dollar — it books expenses largely in euros but reports revenue in dollars — and to overcome cost overruns arising from a two-year delay in deliveries of the A380. AVIC I has expressed its interest in buying or investing in all six plants, and Airbus wants to discuss the specifics of a transaction, Gu Ping, an AVIC I spokesman said yesterday from the Paris Air Show. An Airbus spokeswoman declined to confirm that AVIC I had expressed interest. But she said Airbus is in discussions with several potential buyers and partners and that the company hopes to make a decision in the coming months. (Source: WSJ)
15 Jun 07. Senate Panel Approves BRAC Funding. $984.2m Earmarked For Military Construction And Accommodations In State. A Senate panel approved $984.2m for construction in Maryland, including $719.7m to accommodate the base realignment that is expected to bring tens of thousands of jobs to the state. The $109.2bn military construction and veterans affairs bill th