MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
09 Jan 08. QinetiQ carries out civil and military Electromagnetic Compatibility testing at its Chertsey facility. A midlife update that includes new electronic systems, transmission and engine for a major foam vehicle from the Specialist Utility Vehicles IPT part of the Directorate General Land Equipment has meant that its Electromagnetic Compatibility also needed retesting to the appropriate defence standard (Defence Standard 59-41). This work has just been completed by QinetiQ’s Electromagnetic and Environmental Services (EMES) Group in its whole vehicle chamber at Chertsey in Surrey.
14 Jan 08. India to set up its first UAV technology centre. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is planning to set up the country’s first dedicated facility for testing unmanned air vehicle (UAV) technologies near Chitradurga in Karnataka. Chitradurga lies close to Bangalore – home to a large number of defence and aerospace establishments – which weighed heavily in the DRDO’s decision to set up the facility there. It is expected to cost Rs billion ($216m) and become operational in the next five years. It is envisaged that the centre will be used to test small, micro, flapping-wing and long-range UAV designs. Significantly, the Chitradurga range is expected to be involved in the development of India’s first medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV. The DRDO has to date developed two UAVs – Nishant and Lakshya – both of which have entered production. Lakshya, an aerial target system, is being used for DRDO missile tests. (Source: Shephard)
08 Jan 08. The Boeing Company has opened a new F-15E Mission Training Center (MTC) at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. The center, Boeing’s second overall, will provide aircrews with high-fidelity, simulator-based training without the material and personnel costs associated with training on operational aircraft. The training center provides two high-fidelity, dual-cockpit F-15E simulators with a 360-degree visual system, a robust synthetic environment as well as instructor/operator and brief/debrief stations. The simulators, enhanced with a head-tracked area-of-interest display visual system, can be operated individually or linked to provide two- or four-ship training within the MTC. They also can be linked locally with two medium-fidelity F-15E Manned Combat Stations to allow local four-ship training. After a few months of operation, the MTC will join the Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) training network.
08 Jan 08. MoD to announce Deepcut closure. Reports have claimed Deepcut will be replaced by housing. The closure of Surrey’s Deepcut army barracks is to be announced later by the Ministry of Defence. The training base near Camberley, where four young soldiers died in separate shooting incidents between 1995 and 2002, is to be sold off. (Source: BBC)
14 Jan 08. France Set To Base Navy Units in Abu Dhabi. France and Abu Dhabi should seal an agreement Jan. 15 that would allow the French navy to station vessels in the Arab emirate across the Gulf from Iran, a source familiar with the issue said. French newspaper Le Monde reported earlier Jan. 14 that the two sides were set to sign an agreement during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy granting France a permanent naval base there. (Source: Defense News)
14 Jan 08. EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) is considering selling Socata, its general aviation manufacturing unit, which had 2006 sales of €228m ($336.9m), French newspaper La Tribune reported on Monday. La Tribune, which cited EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois as one of the sources for its report, added that the company was also considering a sale of the Rochefort site of its Sogerma division, although no final decision had been made. La Tribune said aeronautics supplier Daher was a candidate for a possible acquisition of Socata. (Source: Reuters)
14 Jan 08. Airbus will produce a civilian freighter in Mobi