LOCATIONS

LAND

27 May 10. ILIAS Solutions moves to its new offices. ILIAS Solutions, a company specialised in information managements systems for resource management in defence, today announced that it moved to its new offices. The new offices are located in Brussels, opposite to the current NATO HQ, next to the future NATO HQ and close to the Belgian Defence HQ which is one of their largest customers.
“Choosing this location, confirms our commitment to our defence customers.” said Jean-Pierre Wildschut, Managing Director of the company. “We do not want to be a software manufacturer who sends its software to its customer from a remote location. We are aiming for long term and close partnerships with our customers.”

16 Jun 10. Sofradir, the French infrared component maker, may open a U.S.
facility to design and assemble IR packages to better serve the American defense market, chief executive Philippe Bensussan said June 16 at the Eurosatory trade show. (Source: Defense News)

Jun 10. Keighley Laboratories Invests In Cutting Edge Technology. Keighley Laboratories, a UK technology leader in the analysis, testing and heat treatment of metals, has invested around £100k in upgrading its laboratory test house, in line with ever more exacting customer requirements. This is part of a wholesale site modernisation process, which will also see the development of new buildings and facilities over the coming months, with a view to positioning the company at the cutting edge of sub-contract heat treatment and metallurgical solutions. The core of this initial investment phase has seen the installation of new high tech equipment that enables manual to semi-automated metallographic sample preparation, for handling the latest generation of superalloys, and powerful metallurgical microscopes for examining the microstructure of specimens, as well as digital image capture and analysis. This laboratory resource will enable the specialised evaluation of the effect of the latest drilling and machining techniques on high grade components, such as advanced turbine blades used in power plants and jet engines. Other capital investments include a new CNC lathe for manufacturing sample pieces, an X-ray fluorescence analyser, a non-destructive digital ferrite meter, and complete refurbishment of the test house.

MARITIME

12 Jun 10. The Navy christened the newest amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego, Saturday, June 12, 2010, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The ship is named for the city of San Diego, principal homeport of the Pacific fleet, and honors the people of “America’s Finest City” and its leaders for their continuous support of the military. Gen. James Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Linda Winter, wife of former Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter, is the sponsor, and in accordance with Navy tradition, will break a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship. Designated LPD 22, San Diego is the sixth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. As an element of future expeditionary strike groups, the ship will support the Marine Corps “mobility triad,” which consists of the landing craft air cushion vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. San Diego will provide improved warfighting capabilities, including an advanced command-and-control suite, increased lift-capability in vehicle and cargo-carrying capacity and advanced ship-survivability features. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines. Three previous ships have carried the name San Diego – an armored cruiser (ACR 6) named in 1914, a World War II-era cruiser (CL 53) commissioned in 1942, and a combat stores ship (AFS 6) that served from 1969 to 1997.

PLANT CLOSURES, JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES

18 Jun 10. U.K. Armed Forces chief Air Chief Marshal Sir