EUROPE
12 Dec 05. MOD: PFI DELIVERS FOR DEFENCE. Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects are delivering defence procurements on time, to budget, and to specification according to a review published today that has been undertaken by the MoD. The comprehensive review of all PFI projects as defined by HM
Treasury with total contract costs in excess of £19 Billion has concluded specifically that: PFI in the MOD substantially delivers projects on time and within budget; Operational PFI projects in MOD are performing well and are
delivering the services required; and Long term PFI contracts in MOD are flexible enough to accommodate future change and to deliver on a sustained basis.
08 Dec 05. Type 45 Destroyers: First of Class Launch. The MoD announced that HRH The Countess of Wessex is to launch HMS DARING at BAE Systems’ Scotstoun yard in Glasgow on 1 Feb 06. The MoD also confirmed that the contract had been let for the first three ships of the Class and that negotiations continued for hulls four, five and six. Comment: HMS DARING is expected to join the Fleet in mid-2009, followed by HMS DAUNTLESS in mid-2010 and HMS DIAMOND in late-2010. On 31 Oct 05, the Armed Forces’ Minister confirmed that the Type 45 was “a planned eight ship Class”. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 05/47, 12 Dec 05)
13 Dec 05. Britain Buys Russian Surface-To-Air Missiles In Fight Against Terrorism. Britain has secretly bought dozens of sophisticated Russian surface-to-air missiles, of a type that is believed to have fallen into terrorist hands, to develop countermeasures against them. There are fears that the weapon, which can be packed into a golf bag and assembled and fired very rapidly by one person with minimal training, will be targeted at civil and military aircraft. (Source: Defense News/London Daily Telegraph)
09 Dec 05. At a press briefing this Friday morning in Copenhagen, “Gripen DK”, the version of the successful Swedish fighter offered to the Royal Danish Air Force (“Flyvevåbnet”), was presented in detail. The presentation was given by representatives from Gripen International, the Saab entity responsible for marketing and selling the aircraft to Denmark. The press briefing was a response to continuous media requests for further information on the new enhanced version of the fighter, revealed only last week when it was made publicly known that Gripen International had responded “fully compliant” to a Danish request for information on a F-16 replacement.
15 Dec 05. Britten-Norman will provide final re-assembly of Cirrus’s award-winning SR20 and SR22 aircraft slated for delivery to European customers.
UK based Britten-Norman, will perform final CIRRUS aircraft re-assemblies, including wing and tail attachment, initially for European customers and potentially for other geographic markets in the future. Britten-Norman has over 40 years of experience in the manufacture, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of light aircraft. Flights will operate from the Britten-Norman airport facility at Bembridge, on the Isle of Wight, UK.
13 Dec 05. EADS Tops EU List of R&D Spenders. EADS easily topped the list of aero-defense companies in the European Union that invested the most in research and development in 2004, according to the EU’s latest survey of R&D expenditure across the union. Carried out by Eurostat, the union’s statistics agency, the survey shows that the 25 EU nations spent nearly 200 billion euros in all industrial sectors on R&D in 2004, or 1.9 percent of their collective gross domestic product. This is a slight fall compared to 2003, when 1.92 percent of GDP was invested in research and development. (Source: Defense News)
USA
14 Dec 05. Pentagon Acquisition Panel Outlines Recommendations. A special panel formed by Gordon England, the deputy U.S. secretary of defense, is recommending far-reaching changes to the way the Pentagon buys weapons, seeking to improve efficiency, speed up development and foster