LOCATIONS
LAND
16 Sep 10. Portions of the German military and civilian personnel located in the former capital here might be relocated to Berlin in the next few years as part of the restructuring of the Bundeswehr. Of the approximately 3,800 Bundeswehr military and civil personnel in Bonn, 2,600 are working at the Defense Ministry’s location here. Another 560 are based at its outpost in Berlin, a number that should increase to about 1,000 employees. The 3,800 figure includes Defense Ministry and other Bundeswehr institutions. (Source: Defense News)
20 Sep 10. PEI-Genesis has significantly expanded the MIL-DTL-38999 production capability at its 65,000 ft2 European assembly facility in Southampton. The company is QPL listed by the US Department of Defense for assembling the MIL-DTL-38999 Series I, II and III military circular connectors manufactured by Amphenol. Some of the processes involved in assembling these connectors differ from those required for most other connector types, so PEI-Genesis made the decision to build two new assembly lines dedicated to producing fully qualified MIL-DTL-38999 connectors and related products, all of which are offered with PEI’s standard 48-hour assembly service.
“We were able to set up the new assembly lines very rapidly because we had already established a supply-chain partnership with Amphenol,” commented Tony Houghton, operations manager at the Southampton facility. “This involves very close collaboration between the two organisations and provides a framework for open communication between personnel at every level.”
Specifically, PEI-Genesis and Amphenol were able to share each other’s knowledge of MIL-DTL-38999 assembly techniques and tooling, ensuring that the most efficient processes were used from the outset.
As a result, PEI-Genesis invested in several new items of equipment, including two high-resolution inkjet marking machines, two customised mechanical flow ovens for print curing, and two staking machines for the mechanical retention of the MIL-DTL-38999 connector inserts.
“This investment has enabled PEI-Genesis to increase the Southampton facility’s annual MIL-DTL-38999 capacity from around 60,000 connectors to over 200,000,” said Houghton.
All assembly work is carried out under the company’s ISO 9001:2000 quality system, and every connector undergoes MIL-DTL-38999 Group A testing to ensure 100% mateability. As well as handling Amphenol’s MIL-DTL-38999 connectors, the new assembly lines will also be used for derivative products such as the Amphe-Lite range of composite circular connectors and the Amphe-EX series of ATEX-approved hazardous-area connectors.
Sep 10. Systems and Software Engineering consultancy, Purple Secure Systems, will create several new jobs thanks to a move to new secure premises situated in the city of Bath. Following its establishment in 2006, the business has grown to comprise 25 people and provides project and technical expertise to support government and defence systems integrators. The secure premises will provide space for continued expansion and enable Purple to offer a wider range of services to its customers. The site is an established facility in Bath, which is part of the Sitec Group, one of the world’s largest independently-owned engineering services companies.
09 Sep 10. Land Forces Headquarters: Fully Operational. The Armed Forces’ Minister and the Commander-in-Chief Land Forces declared the new Land Forces Headquarters in Andover to be fully operational (9 Sep 10).
Comment: Land Forces was formed on 1 Apr 08 when Land Command and the Adjutant General’s Command combined. Just over 2,000 Service and Civilian personnel now work at the refurbished site, renamed as Marlborough Lines. Staff from Upavon and Wilton moved to Andover between May and July 2010. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/36, 20 Sep 10)
20 Sep 10. Officials from Northrop Grumman Corporation-led joint venture National Security Technologies (NST