MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
13 Mar 08. Destroyers and Frigates: Numbers. The Armed Forces’ Minister said (13 Mar 08) that the MoD “currently plans to retain a fleet of 25 destroyers and frigates”. The Minister went on to say that the number of ships in service would vary “as the older Type 42 destroyers are replaced by the more capable Type 45s”.
Comment: The Minister’s Written Answer was disingenuous. There are currently 25 escorts (eight Type 42 destroyers, four Type 22 frigates and 13 Type 23 frigates). On presently announced plans, the number falls to 24 in 2009 and to 23 in 2012. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0812, 17 Mar 08)
04 Mar 08. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA): Leavers. The Defence Equipment Minister listed (4 Mar 08) five vessels which were no longer in the RFA ‘operational cycle’. Brambleleaf, Oakleaf, Grey Rover and Sir Percivale are ‘awaiting disposal’ while Sir Tristram is being used as a training platform.
Comment: Those briefing the Minister appear to have overlooked the departure of RFA Sir Bedivere, which the MoD announced on 18 Feb 08. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0812, 17 Mar 08)
Mar 08. ITT Interconnect Solutions has created a centre for military and aerospace customers at its Basingstoke facility in the UK. The company has increased its engineering and sales capabilities dedicated to this important European sector to service the increasing complexity of customisation required by the latest defence and aeronautical programs. Currently, ITT Interconnect Solutions is working to deliver parts for the VIS military communications program and also the MRAP (Mine Resistant Armoured Protection) vehicle. Its Basingstoke Military & Aerospace Centre of Excellence also includes a cable assembly facility approved to ISO9001.
Mar 08. Tata Consultancy Services on Monday opened a $20m delivery and software development centre at Milford, Cincinnati, in Ohio in an apparent bid to reduce shipping work outside the US and win federal contracts. The new facility will employ only a handful of Indian “process people”. It will mostly rely on local talent. It has built 50 offices in the US to be near its biggest customers and now it is taking on the big boys from the Silicon Valley in hiring the best from Ivy League colleges. TCS has 15,000 employees in North America. The new facility will also help what some major Indian service providers are chasing defence and avionics work. TCS is reportedly in talks with Boeing and Lockheed Martin for defence and aerospace contracts held by those companies. This work can only be done in the US by American citizens or green card holders. (Source: Google)
16 Mar 08. Five people died and more than 200 were injured in a powerful explosion on Saturday at a military depot near Tirana airport where expert teams were dismantling Stalinist-era munitions. Workers at the depot and local residents were hospitalised with concussion and cuts from flying shrapnel and other debris, Albanian health ministry officials said. The initial blast was felt in the centre of Tirana, 20km away. Residents fled the village of Gerdec, close to the depot, as detonations continued to shake the area. President Bamir Topi appeared on Albanian state television to appeal for calm. Private television stations showed pictures of houses with roofs and walls blown out. Plumes of smoke rose from the area around the depot. Police closed the road between the airport and the city centre. A statement issued by the office of Sali Berisha, the prime minister, said that 110 people were working at the munitions dump on Saturday. Albania is destroying stockpiles of Soviet and Chinese-made weapons with US assistance under its Nato membership action plan. It hopes to win an invitation to join the alliance at next month’s Nato summit in Bucharest. (Source: FT.com)
JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
18 Mar 08. Albania’s defence minister has resigned following a series of explosions at a munitions dump