LOCATIONS

LAND

29 Feb 12. Hyderabad’s potential to emerge as an aerospace hub got a boost with B/E Aerospace, a world leader in manufacture of aircraft cabin interior products, announcing the opening of its Engineering Services Division here. The Nasdaq listed company is also a leading distributor of aerospace fasteners and consumables with $2.5bn in revenues. The facility was formally inaugurated by Mr Paul Mueller, In-charge of Business and Economic Portfolio for the US Consulate. Mr Wayne Exton, Vice President- Business Jet Segment, B/E Aerospace, senior executives of the company and officials were present. (Source: Google)

29 Feb 12. Row upon row of dormitories lie empty at the Ukudu housing
complex in northern Guam amid uncertainty over U.S. plans to relocate thousands of Marines from Japan to the Pacific island nation. Work on the project began two years ago, in anticipation of an economic boom in Guam following a 2006 agreement between Washington and Tokyo to transfer 8,000 Marines and 9,000 dependents from the Japanese island of Okinawa.
Designed to accommodate up to 18,000 temporary workers needed to service the U.S. military’s increased presence, the $200-million complex includes space for an on-site fire station, medical clinic, transport hub and police station. The vast majority of its buildings stand empty, however; a symbol of the lengthy delays and constant changes to the Marine transfer plan that have cast a pall of uncertainty over Guam’s economy.
Ukudu’s developer, South Korean-owned Younex International Enterprises, said it had adjusted its business plan and has leased what space it could in the vast complex to workers who were not linked to the military buildup. (Source: Defense News)

MARITIME

23 Feb 12. Indian Coast Guard inducts new IPV. The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned the first of a new class of inshore patrol vessel (IPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE). An improved version of GRSE’s naval Water Jet Fast Attack Craft, the Rajshree class design, is 50m long with a beam of 7.5m and a displacement of 300 tons.
(Source: Jane’s Navy International)

23 Feb 12. India’s Bharati prepares to challenge rejection of naval warship bid. Mumbai-based Bharati Shipyard Ltd (BSL) is preparing to challenge the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s (FIPB’s) decision to reject its proposal in late 2011 to win approval to construct warships for the Indian Navy (IN). A notice published by the FIPB on 22 February said that BSL was one of five companies set to make a representation against a previous rejection decision. (Source: Jane’s Navy International)

23 Feb 12. Ghana Navy commissions new patrol boats. The Ghana Navy commissioned a quartet of Chinese-built Snake-class patrol craft on 20 February after several months of work-up and training. GNS Blika (P.34), GNS Garinga (P.35), GNS Chemle (P.36) and GNS Ehwor (P.37) were inducted into service at Sekondi naval base. (Source: Jane’s Navy International)

02 Mar 12. Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute returned home to Scotland after deploying to America for her most important series of sea trials yet. The hunter-killer nuclear submarine HMS Astute, the first of the Navy’s next-generation submarines, is the most advanced submarine Britain has ever sent to sea. She has spent the last four-and-a-half months off the eastern seaboard of North America undergoing extensive trials, including firing her main weaponry for the first time. She spent 77 days at sea, 65 alongside, and was inspected by 18-stars-worth of American and British naval authority – including the First Sea Lord and America’s naval equivalent, the Chief of Naval Operations. She ‘battled’ against USS New Mexico, America’s newest and best Virginia Class hunter-attack submarine, deep dived, fired her Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, and over the course of the deployment sailed 16,400 miles (26,400km). Her Commanding Officer, Glasgow-born Commander Iain Brecken