04 May 03. A number of private equity firms including the Carlyle Group and Texas Pacific Group are understood to be interested in buying DaimlerChrysler’s MTU Aero Engines subsidiary. JP Morgan is expected to begin the formal process of selling the $2bn company within the next few weeks. It has long been clear that MTU was not part of DaimlerChrysler’s core automotive business, leading to continuing speculation that the group would eventually be sold.

06 May 03. EDO Corporation (NYSE:EDO – News) net earnings for the first quarter ended March 29, 2003 were $3.0m, or $0.17 per diluted share, on revenues of $94.4m, (2002: ($0.6 million, or $0.03 per share)). Operating earnings for the first quarter of 2003 were $7.1m, up 51.5 percent from the $4.7m reported in the first quarter of 2002. These earnings improvements were achieved despite $920,000 of intangible asset amortization expense in the first quarter of 2003, versus $50,000 last year.

30 Apr 03. The U.S. DoD announced that U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) will partially close the Giessen General Depot, Germany, and return its other facilities in Giessen, Friedberg, Butzbach, Wetzlar and Bad Nauheim in fiscal 2006-2008 as part of the U.S. Army’s Efficient-Basing East project. The closures will be completed incrementally during that timeframe as brigade combat team assets are consolidated at one location. The concentration of assets at one site will enhance both traning and deployment readiness by putting six battalion-sized units adjacent to their major training area. Termed “Efficient-Basing East,” the project is in keeping with the Army’s goal to station a brigade combat team on a single installation and deploy a brigade combat team anywhere in the world.

06 May 03. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Space Technology sector announced that it has selected Marconi Selenia Communications S.p.A. to supply the backup radio for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Northrop Grumman Space Technology is developing the F-35 advanced communications, navigation and identification (CNI) avionics suite under contract to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. The backup radio provides emergency voice communication capability for the CNI system.