LOCATIONS
LAND
05 Feb 13. Visure Solutions has extended its market reach into the Americas with the opening of a new Headquarter Office in San Francisco, CA. Under the direction of VP and COO Dr. Moustapha Tadlaoui, this new US office will carry the leading requirements engineering solution, Visure Requirements, into both North and South America. To establish an immediate stronghold, Moustapha is first targeting mature embedded and systems markets such as avionics, aerospace, automotive, and medical that understands the need of managing requirements.
04 Feb 13. The U.S. Army has granted BAE Systems a $27m contract to complete construction of a state-of-the-art and energy-saving chemical processing facility at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The new facility, when finished later this year, will transform and modernize the way acetic acid and acetic anhydride are produced, stored and handled at the plant for manufacturing military explosives. The Holston plant is an Army-owned, contractor-operated site that produces a range of explosive fills, such as RDX and HMX, for artillery and other munitions. Since World War II, chemicals like acetic acid and acetic anhydride have been processed at a 110-acre site located 7 miles from the main plant. A rail corridor and a series of pipelines currently carry the chemicals back and forth during manufacturing. The new processing facility, in comparison, will occupy just 10 acres on the main site. It will improve operating efficiency at the plant, decrease production and maintenance costs, and reduce safety and environmental risks associated with transporting and pumping chemicals. The facility, designed by BAE Systems for the Army, will also utilize combined-heat-and-power technology — also called cogeneration — to produce steam from natural gas to process the chemicals. The resulting electricity will be able to power at least 90 percent of the entire plant, a major step forward in meeting Holston’s goal of energy independence. The $27m contract initiates the final phase of construction, which began in 2011. The total cost of the Army project will be approximately $143m, the largest single investment at Holston. (Source: Yahoo!/BUSINESS WIRE)
MARITIME
06 Feb 13. The most iconic section of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Forward Island containing the bridge, has begun her delivery journey from the dock hall on HM Naval Base Portsmouth where the first steel was cut just 70 weeks ago. After leaving the dock hall’s basin and passing through a lock, the Forward Island will pause overnight on the outer edge of the naval base ready for an early morning departure from 0800.
Paul Bowsher, QE Class project leader for BAE Systems in Portsmouth, told employees gathered to wave off the Forward Island: “Today is a day of celebration – it is both an important and iconic milestone in the programme to build the nation’s new flagships. “The delivery of the Forward Island marks a new and exciting phase in the programme when we begin to really see the immense scale of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers as the first ship comes together at Rosyth. “I would like to thank all involved in the programme for your continued commitment and professionalism, as we work together to deliver these magnificent ships.”
A specialist transportation team from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance will now oversee the Forward Island’s 600 mile journey along the East coast of the UK to Rosyth, where the final assembly of the aircraft carrier is underway. She is the first block to depart with her final paint colours applied, all windows fitted and consoles installed, along with 43km of cables and 3,101 pipes. She also proudly displays the HMS Queen Elizabeth crest. The 680 tonne Forward Island will be lifted onto HMS Queen Elizabeth in March and, after the Long Range Radar has been installed on top, the ship will stand taller than the Niagara Falls at 56 metres.
01 Feb 13. Navy Will Cancel Maintenance o