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LOCATIONS
LAND
24 Aug 11. Lockheed Martin has selected its Courtland, Ala., facility for future production of the Standard Missile-3 Block IIB (SM-3 IIB). The production facility decision will be part of the bid that Lockheed Martin intends to submit for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s upcoming product development phase for the SM-3 IIB that is scheduled to be awarded in 2013. Focused on stringent quality standards and cost-reduction measures, the innovative facility in Lawrence County, Ala., currently produces highly reliable threat-representative ballistic missile targets.
25 Aug 11. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Navigation Systems Division subsidiary, Northrop Grumman Italia (NGI), has successfully achieved recertification of its Quality Management System under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and EN/AS 9100 standards.
NGI, based near Rome, received the recertification in July following a rigorous independent audit of its systems by Det Norske Veritas, a global provider of accredited management system certification. To be certified, companies must implement a quality management system that encompasses the enterprise’s activities, including management responsibility; resource management; product realization; and measurement, analysis and improvement. NGI has a history of standardizing its manufacturing and engineering processes, fulfilling ISO requirements for quality assurance. The facility received its first ISO 9001 certification in July 1997, followed by a recertification in September 2003. In 2008, NGI received its first EN 9100 certification, which is based on ISO 9001, but defines an additional set of specialized standards for aerospace companies. EN 9100 is published by the European Association of Aerospace Industries and is known as AS9100 in the U.S.
24 Aug 11. The final element of a one million pound composite upgrade investment has come to fruition at Beagle Technology Group’s facility in Dorset. Over the past year, Beagle has been investing heavily in upgrading its facilities as part of an expansion and restructuring strategy, which has enabled the Company to win business in new markets, such as a recent order in the defence land vehicles sector.
Equipment purchases and upgrades include:
* Pre-preg cutter
* Laser projection system
* CATIA 3D computer aided design and manufacturing software
* Autoclave refurbishment
* Clean room facilities
* Security installations
Beagle Technology Group has also added NADCAP Composites to its portfolio of approvals.
MARITIME
19 Aug 11. Australia announces decommissioning of HMAS Kanimbla. Australia’s amphibious support capability has suffered a further blow with the decision to decommission the 8,500-tonne landing platform amphibious (LPA) ship HMAS Kanimbla more than three years before its scheduled retirement date. A statement by Defence Minister Stephen Smith on 18 August said a detailed assessment of Kanimbla showed extensive remediation work could cost as much as AUD35 million (USD37m) and would not be completed until at least mid-2012 – just 30 months before the ship was scheduled to be withdrawn from service. (Source: Jane’s, JDW)
31 Aug 11. The Royal Navy’s latest, new Type 45 Destroyer, HMS Dragon, has sailed into Portsmouth today. The 7,500 tonne vessel has today been formally accepted from shipbuilder BAE Systems and will now undergo a series of tests before being declared ready for operations. Armed with the world-leading Sea Viper missile defence system, she is able to defend against multiple attacks from even the most sophisticated aircraft and anti-ship missiles, simultaneously approaching from any direction and at supersonic speeds. Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey, attending today’s ceremony to mark HMS Dragon’s acceptance off