MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
11 Jun 08. The Boeing Company delivered the United Kingdom’s sixth C-17 Globemaster III to the Royal Air Force (RAF) today during a ceremony at the company’s Long Beach, Calif., C-17 manufacturing facility. The delivery completes the RAF’s initial order for the world’s most advanced airlifter.
10 Jun 08. The Defence Minister AK Antony announced the formation of an Integrated Space Cell under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Services Head Quarters to counter ‘the growing threat to our space assets’. Addressing the Unified Commanders’ Conference here, he said, although we want to utilize space for peaceful purposes and remain committed to our policy of non-weaponisation of space, ‘offensive counter space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of Military Space Systems have emerged in our neighbourhood’. Antony said the new Cell will act as a single window for integration among the Armed Forces, the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). India had expressed its deep disquiet about last month’s ASAT (anti-satellite) test when China destroyed an aging satellite in space with a DF-21 missile. (Source: Google)
06 Jun 08. Following 90 days of Lorient-based trials, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first DCNS-designed Scorpene submarine for the Royal Malaysian Navy, has now returned to Cherbourg for a post-trials refit. The shipbuilder’s trials were held in the deep waters of the Bay of Biscay. Some 420 hours of underwater trials demonstrated the boat’s speed, dive endurance, manoeuvrability and stealth in addition to testing its combat system (including sonars and torpedo launch tubes) and safety and rescue systems. Between now and late September, a DCNS team of 50 in Cherbourg will refit KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and prepare it for final acceptance trials, the last pre-delivery milestone.
10 Jun 08. The U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems celebrated the formal activation of the new Shipboard Electronics Repair Facility in Pittsfield. The repair facility is housed in a newly renovated wing in the northeast corner of the Ordnance Plant 1 building on Plastics Avenue and comprises about 11,000 square feet. It features various workstations and test stations, and employs about 16 repair personnel in addition to more than 24 development engineers. The current repair work is
being accomplished under a Navy contract awarded in September 2007 valued at
approximately $5.2m annually.
JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
05 Jun 08. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, dismissed the two most senior air force officials on Thursday following several incidents that revealed embarrassing breakdowns of nuclear-weapons safeguards. Mr Gates ordered the resignations of General Michael Moseley, the air force chief of staff, and Michael Wynne, the air force secretary, over incidents that happened during the past year. One person with knowledge of the situation said several other senior air force officers would also be dismissed. Gates raises concerns over energy tussles. In August 2007, an air force bomber mistakenly transported six nuclear missiles across the US without the pilots realising they were on board. Then, earlier this year, the Pentagon discovered that the US military had accidentally shipped nose cones for nuclear Minuteman missiles to Taiwan, prompting President George W. Bush to apologise to Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. (Source: FT.com)
PERSONNEL
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT
02 Jun 08. Cyprus: Numbers Deployed. The Armed Forces’ Minister released details (2 Jun 08) of the numbers of Armed Forces’ personnel in Cyprus. About 250 from the Army serve the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) as part of OP TOSCA. British Forces Cyprus are made up from a further 40 RN, 1,880 Army and 1,160 RAF personnel. The mission of British Forces Cyprus include