LOCATIONS
LAND
14 Feb 13. Eurocopter expanded its global industrial footprint and enhanced the company’s presence in Mexico with the inauguration of a new manufacturing center of excellence at Querétaro, which is to produce high-technology aircraft structural metallic components.
The event was attended by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, along with other key government, local and Eurocopter officials. Located at the Aerotech Industrial Park adjacent to Querétaro Intercontinental Airport, this 12,000-square-meter facility will be the single-source production site for structures used in jetliner doors that the company manufactures for Airbus, along with tail booms to equip Eurocopter Ecureuil helicopters. The site also is home to a recently-opened 1,000-square-meter maintenance center specialized in the Ecureuil family of helicopters, which serves the region’s Eurocopter clients operating the popular lightweight rotorcraft.
12 Feb 13. Scott Safety, a leading manufacturer of innovative respiratory protection, gas detection and other PPE equipment, has announced the opening of a new training, servicing and assembly facility in Abu Dhabi to support its growing customer base in the Middle East. With thousands of people depending on Scott Safety products to protect them in high risk environments, the new Abu Dhabi facility confirms the company’s commitment to providing its customers with expert advice and guidance on choosing the right product, making sure it’s delivered on time and providing local service and warranty support.
10 Feb 13. A unique defence and aerospace industrial corridor, Parakram, was announced here on Friday. The corridor is being developed as a private sector enterprise equipped with the capability to design, develop and support Defence, Aerospace and Home Land Security systems and solutions. The first phase of the corridor would span Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. Investment for the first phase has been fixed at Rs 250 crore and will go up as the project progresses. Land identified includes the Bagalur Aerospace Zone (45 acres extendable to 120 acres) in Bangalore; Chennai – 35 km before Bangalore Chennai highway (36 acres extendable to 80 acres) Hyderabad-Khairatabad (100 acres), Cochin-Ernakulam highway (20 acres). Each of these areas falls within 60-km radius of international airports. In phase 2, the corridor would be extended to the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor spanning Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern Haryana, Eastern Rajasthan, Eastern Gujarat, Western Maharashtra and other regions in the country. (Source: Google)
MARITIME
13 Feb 13. Gravely Gets Underway for Maiden Deployment. Deploying for the first time, guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed Feb. 11 for the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility to participate in Ballistic Missile Defense escort operations. Not only is this the ship’s maiden deployment, it is also the first deployment for a large number of the crew, many of whom have been on board Gravely since the ship’s initial construction and pre-commissioning phase. Gravely was commissioned Nov. 20, 2010 in Wilmington, N.C. The deployment will be an opportunity for the crew to test the skills they have been developing during their many months of training. Led by Cmdr. David W. Dry, they have been preparing for this deployment since November 2011 when they began the ship’s inaugural Fleet Response Training Plan – Basic Phase. They have since participated in numerous multi-national exercises and real-world operational assignments, and gained extensive experience in every facet of expected deployment operations. (Source: ASD Network)
13 Feb 13. Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme (SEPP): Contract Signature. The Defence Equipment Minister announced (13 Feb 13) that the MoD has awarded a 10-year foundation contract to Rolls-Royce Submarines worth around £800m, for the delivery and support of the UK’s