05 May 05. The parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus SAS Thursday selected four Southern states as finalists for a $600m U.S. factory to build refueling tankers for the U.S. military. Sites in Mobile, Ala.; Melbourne, Fla.; Kiln, Miss.; and North Charleston, S.C., will compete for the right to host the U.S. factory, which could begin operations as soon as next year. The four sites were each asked to provide additional information in a formal request for proposals, which was issued Thursday. “After careful evaluation, four locations emerged as the sites most capable of meeting the transportation, personnel and manufacturing demands of large military aircraft assembly,” said Ralph Crosby Jr., chairman and CEO of EADS North America.
May 05. Southwick Park Estate: Flagship Training to Manage. Following the relocation of the RN Navigation Training School from HMS DRYAD at Southwick Park to HMS COLLINGWOOD in Fareham, Flagship Training is to manage the Southwick Park Estate. Comment: Flagship Training is a 50/50 joint venture between BAE Systems and VT. Southwick House was the Supreme Allied Headquarters during World War II and is home to the Map Room where the original plans for the 1944 D-Day landings are still displayed. The estate covers 300 acres (122 hectares) with over 60 buildings, which will now become commercially available for business and/or leisure activities. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 05/17, 02 May 05)
03 May 05. The U.S. Air Force took another step toward its vision of a Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) capability with the opening of its newest Boeing F-15C Mission Training Center at Kadena Air Base in Japan. DMO allows Air Force pilots in flight simulators at one location to train with pilots at another location hundreds, even thousands of miles away. This innovative training concept gives the Air Force enhanced simulator training as a realistic supplement to flight training. The Kadena facility is the first F-15C DMO training center site outside the United States.
03 May 05. Boeing has named David M. Koopersmith vice president and program manager of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45 Program. Koopersmith assumes responsibility for the company’s highly successful X-45 program at a crucial time. With 50 X-45A flights completed so far, Boeing will transition from the advanced technology phase and introduce the more capable X-45C system.
04 May 05. FLIR Systems, Inc. announced that Tamara L. Adler has been elected to the Board of Directors for a term expiring at the Company’s 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Adler has most recently been a Managing Director with JPMorgan Chase, one of the world’s leading investment and commercial banks.
04 May 05. General Dynamics announced that Charles M. Hall, president of General Dynamics Land Systems, will succeed Arthur J. Veitch as executive vice president and group executive of the corporation’s Combat Systems group when Veitch retires in June. In addition, David K. Heebner, senior vice president – planning and development, will succeed Hall as president of General Dynamics Land Systems. Phebe N. Novakovic, vice president of strategic planning, will replace Heebner as senior vice president – planning and development. The appointments are effective July 1.
05 May 05. Raytheon Company announced that the Raytheon Board of Directors has elected Susan E. Baumgarten, Jon Jones and William J. Lynn to be Company officers.
25 Apr 05. Microsoft Corp. said Monday that it hired Chris Liddell as the company’s chief financial officer effective May 9. He replaces former CFO John Connors, who retired in January. Liddell previously served as CFO at International Paper Co., and before that was chief executive officer of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., one of New Zealand’s largest forest-products companies.