LOCATIONS
LAND
22 Dec 09. The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation-led joint venture National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec) a one-year, cost-reimbursement and operating type contract extension valued at approximately $450m to manage and operate the Nevada Test Site (NTS) through 2013. Northrop Grumman earned the contract extension through its continued exceptional performance, which led to a customer performance assessment of “outstanding” for its performance at the site in 2009. Under the terms of the contract, NSTec manages and operates the NTS facility and provides infrastructure support. NSTec’s primary mission includes stockpile stewardship as well as management of the nuclear explosives safety team that supports the Department of Energy’s efforts to prevent or slow the spread of nuclear weapons, while bolstering its counter-terrorism mission. The contract also supports hazardous chemical spill testing and emergency response training. NSTec also operates facilities for the NNSA in California, New Mexico and Maryland.
22 Dec 09. Boeing Acquires Stake in Plant. Boeing acquired the half of a South Carolina fuselage subassembly plant it didn’t already own in an effort to gain greater control over the global supply chain for its delayed 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The Dreamliner made its first test flight last week, two years behind schedule. The delays have have cost Boeing millions of dollars and damaged the company’s credibility with customers. The Chicago-based company now faces the challenging task of churning out large numbers of the cutting-edge aircraft, the first delivery of which is scheduled for about a year hence. Boeing paid an undisclosed amount for the remaining 50% of Global Aeronautica from Alenia North America, a unit of Finmeccanica SpA. (Source: WSJ)
20 Dec 09. Colombia beefs up forces on border with Venezuela. The Colombian government has announced it is building a new military base on its border with Venezuela and has activated six new airborne battalions. Relations between the two nations are at a historic low with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez already telling his generals to prepare for war. He moved 15,000 more troops up to the border, accusing Colombia and its ally, the US, of planning an attack. A BBC correspondent says the potential for conflict is heightened. Colombian Defence Minister Gabriel Silva announced the formation of a new base in La Guajira in the north, near the Venezuelan border. At the same time, the Colombian army activated the new airborne battalions, which are equipped with US helicopters. The helicopter fleet, made up mainly of Blackhawks, now numbers 120, making the Colombian Army Air Corps the best equipped and most experienced in Latin America, the BBC’s Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says. (Source: BBC)
MARITIME
18 Dec 09. HMS SUTHERLAND: Back in Service. Thales announced (18 Dec 09) that HMS SUTHERLAND had re-entered service following intensive sea trials and fitted with the Company’s Sonar 2087 system. HMS SUTHERLAND is the sixth Type 23 frigate to be upgraded with the Sonar 2087 and the first to be fitted with the Seawolf Mid Life Update (SWMLU).
Comment: Eight Type 23 frigates are being fitted with Sonar 2087; a towed array system enabling the frigate to hunt the latest submarines and locate them beyond the range at which they could launch an attack.
PLANT CLOSURES, JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
Dec 09. Canada’s economy may be showing signs of improvement but the aerospace industry faces continued turbulence in 2010 with a full recovery from the worse crisis to strike the sector possibly as far as two years away. “Clearly in 2009 there were still orders that had come in from the previous years, so what we’re looking at is a more difficult year in 2010,” says Claude Lajeunesse, head of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. “Hopefully, if the economy continues to recover, th