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28 May 15. Kazkah shipyard expands as patrol boat build gets under way. Kazkah shipbuilder Zenit Uralsk Shipyard has revealed plans to expand production facilities to allow the construction of vessels up to 600 tonnes. Kazakh media, quoting Zenit’s first deputy director Victor Garchev, reported on 28 May that the yard would be expanding its facilities for military and commercial vessels, and will also be looking to expand its offerings to include vessels for export. Garchev also revealed that construction on a new Kazakhstan (Project 250) class, also known as the Bars (Leopard), patrol boat began earlier this year. Work on the hull has been completed, with construction of the wheelhouse and fitout to begin shortly. According to Garchev, the vessels are to be equipped with sonars with a range of up to 1 km. The vessel is expected to be completed by 2016. The Zenit shipyard is reported to have a military order backlog through to 2017, with additional vessels being supplied to the country’s border guards and customs agencies. On 26 May the yard launched a new FC-19 interceptor craft for the Kazakh Coast Guard. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
28 May 15. Boeing [NYSE: BA] formally opened a new avionics maintenance and repair center in the Yeongcheon Industry District of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone. The 10,000 square-foot facility will test and repair aircraft electrical systems, reducing repair times and yielding significant inventory cost savings for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
The new facility underlines both Boeing’s growing role as a global enterprise and its participation in the growth of the domestic Korean aerospace sector.
“This facility will enhance readiness of the ROKAF’s F-15K fleet by allowing rapid, affordable in-country support of the aircraft’s advanced systems,” said Leanne Caret, president for Boeing’s Global Services & Support. “There is also tremendous potential to expand work performed at this facility, by serving other global customers and supporting a variety of weapon systems.”
In 2014, Boeing spent more than $460m with Korean companies, creating and sustaining thousands of hi-tech jobs and maintaining Korea’s position within the top quartile of nations with which Boeing does business. About 25 Korean companies provided products and services for Boeing production and sustainment programs, research and development and a broad range of internal services supporting Boeing operations.
“Beyond its technology and employment benefits, our new avionics facility in Yeongcheon supports enhanced defense readiness for Korea, particularly the Republic of Korea Air Force,” said Eric John, president, Boeing Korea. “Through our own research and development and the work of local industry partners and suppliers, we’re demonstrating that the Korean civil and defense markets are just as important to Boeing’s second century as they have been in the first.”
Boeing operates facilities across the country in Seoul, Busan, Gimpo, Seosan, Daegu and Sacheon.
27 May 15. Exelis (NYSE: XLS), UrsaNav, Inc., the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), and the U.S. Coast Guard have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) for testing and demonstration at former LORAN-C sites. These sites are the legacy ground-based radio navigation infrastructure of the decommissioned LORAN-C service that could be retained and upgraded to provide eLORAN low frequency service. The team will evaluate eLORAN as a potential complementary system to the current Global Positioning System (GPS) currently in wide use throughout the United States. The capabilities and potential utilization methods of eLORAN will be explored in depth to identify all strengths, capacities, and potential vulnerabilities of the technology. Under the CRADA, Exelis will use the former LORAN-C assets to put eLORAN signals in space for research, test and demonstration of the ability