MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
25 Oct 07. BAE Systems is set to move its Wolverhampton-based Bridging business to its Telford site as part of the on-going transformation of its Land Systems business. The move, which will involve a total of 54 employees, is expected to be completed by mid-2009. The decision to transfer Bridging follows a review by BAE Systems aimed at establishing a long-term sustainable military bridging capability with strong growth prospects. The 23-mile move to Telford, which already houses some key support work for the current British Army fleet, will be accompanied by an £8m investment, which includes the refurbishment of the manufacturing areas, building a new office complex and upgrading all facilities, to greatly enhance the working environment. In addition to growing the Bridging business, this investment will allow BAE Systems to further develop Telford as the Support Programmes centre of excellence for the light to medium vehicle fleet, a vital element of the British Army capability.
Oct 07. Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) (LSD(A)): Tasking. In a Response to the Defence Committee (Item 9), the MoD said that RFA Lyme Bay would be available for tasking in November 2007. The other LSD(A) have already been used for sealift tasks (in addition to the six Ro-Ro container ships).
Comment: RFA Lyme Bay is the fourth and last Bay Class LSD(A) and was handed over to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, by BAE Systems, on 2 Aug 07. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0741, 22 Oct 07)
24 Oct 07. VT Shipbuilding has delivered the fourth bow section for the Royal Navy’s new Class of Daring Class destroyers to BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions’ Govan shipyard in Glasgow. The 50m. section, weighing some 1100 tons, was loaded out from VT’s advanced shipbuilding facilities in Portsmouth Naval Base and placed on a barge which was subsequently towed to Glasgow in a four-day voyage via the Irish Sea. The bow will now be consolidated with the rest of HMS Dragon, which is under construction by BAE. The funnel and masts, which VT is also building, will follow to Glasgow later this year.
25 Oct 07. Tri-service training update. Construction of a new tri-service training hub could start as soon as 2009, said Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Derek Twigg today as he updated Parliament on the Defence Training Review. The Defence training campus at St. Athan in South Wales will provide the best possible specialist training in Engineering, Communications and Information Systems for all three Services on one site. In a statement to Parliament, Mr Twigg said the Government continued to make progress on Package 1, which aims to deliver training for Engineering and Communications and Information Systems. Construction at the St. Athan site is expected to start in 2009 so the delivery of training can begin in 2013 for Service personnel who are specialists in engineering and communications. He also told the House that the MoD will continue to consider a range of options for the solution to Package 2, which aims to deliver high quality training in the functions of logistics and personnel administration, police and guarding, security, languages, intelligence and photography.
JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
20 Oct 07. Three colonels, a lieutenant colonel and 66 other personnel were punished following the incident at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, on 29 August. Maj Gen Richard Newton said ground crews had failed to follow procedures. The incident has been described as one of the worst known breaches of nuclear weapons procedures in decades. Six cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads were mounted on the bomber’s wings before it was flown to Louisiana. The missiles were supposed to have been taken to Barksdale Air Force Base, but the warheads should have been removed beforehand. (Source: BBC)
20 Oct 07. Chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Iran’s main contact with the West over Tehran’s atomic program, has resi