LOCATIONS
LAND
06 Jan 15. Russia, Finmeccanica agree to building new helicopter plant. Italy’s Finmeccanica has signed a deal with Russia’s Rostec and Rosneft to build a new helicopter plant near Moscow, the companies announced on 31 December. The plant will produce the AW189 helicopter. The three companies will establish a joint venture on the basis of the HeliVert plant, a joint venture of Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland (subsidiaries Rostec and Finmeccanica). Rosneft will be the new partner of the Russian-Italian joint venture. Full AW189 production in Russia is to be ready by 2025. Lead contractor in the tripartite business will be Rosneft, which is going to place large orders for the multipurpose helicopters. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
06 Jan 15. Safran building new engine plant in Poland. A Safran subsidiary is opening a new plant in Poland designed to build engine parts that will create about 100 jobs, the company announced on 7 September. The plant, which will consist of approximately 8,000 square feet, is being built by Safran company Hispano-Suiza. Two production lines will be constructed, one for Snecma’s production of turbine blades and one for TechSpace Aero’s production of compressor spools. The parts are designed for commercial aircraft sold through Hispano-Suiza, which has been operating in Poland since 2001. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
08 Jan 15. A new centre for visually impaired veterans will be constructed in the West of Scotland. Scottish War Blinded has announced that the charity will establish a day centre for visually impaired veterans of the armed services. The new centre will provide similar services to the charity’s Linburn Centre in West Lothian. It will enable people in the West of Scotland with a visual impairment who have at any time served in the armed forces to benefit from art and wood workshops, sporting leisure and social activities and daily living skills including rehabilitation and mobility. The centre will enhance the outreach services already offered by the charity to veterans in the area. Scottish War Blinded’s sister charity, Royal Blind, will build a 54 bedroom nursing home on the same site. The home will build on the success of Braeside House, the charity’s specialist nursing home for visual impaired older people in the Liberton area of Edinburgh. This will be the first time that Royal Blind has dedicated facilities on the ground in the West of Scotland. The site that has been acquired, pending planning permission, is a former garden centre at the junction of Hawkhead Road and Barrhead Road in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Royal Blind has engaged the Unum Partnership to design its nursing home and Scottish War Blinded has engaged PagePark to design its centre. Both are specified to a high quality standard fully in keeping with existing services.
MARITIME
08 Jan 15. Navy to Christen Fifth Joint High Speed Vessel. The Navy christened the future USNS Trenton (JHSV 5) Jan. 10 during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony in Mobile, Alabama. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Virginia Kamsky, chair and chief executive of Kamsky Associates, Inc., will serve as the ship’s sponsor. “This ship represents the hard-working men and women of New Jersey and the importance of the American cities along the Delaware River. It represents American shipyard, factory, and assembly line workers who have been the backbone of the Arsenal of Democracy since President Franklin Roosevelt coined the phrase more than seven decades ago. It represents the American spirit of hard work, patriotism and perseverance,” said Mabus. “The USNS Trenton will carry these values and this spirit around the world. It is tailor-made for our 21st century operations and maritime security missions, from the wide expanses of the Pacific to the littorals of Africa.” JHSV 5 will be the fourth naval vessel to bear the name Trenton. The first ship was built following the Civil War and was named to h