10 Oct 03. Singapore shortlisted France’s Dassault Aviation SA (Paris:AVMD.PA – News), U.S. firm Boeing Co (NYSE:BA – News), and Eurofighter GmbH on Friday for what is expected to be an influential warplane order, a source involved in the deal said. The decision was a blow to rivals Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT – News) and Russia’s Sukhoi, which the source said had been excluded from bidding for the deal, expected to exceed $1bn and to be finally decided within a year, the source told Reuters.
Oct 03. The estimated value of UK Defence equipment and services exported by the UK in 2002 was £4,120m; made up of £942m ‘identified deliveries’ (as published by the FCO on 1 Jul 03) and £3,178m ‘additional aerospace’ (as calculated by the SBAC). DESO’s survey of Defence contractors gave a figure of £5,041m for 2002 equipment and services orders. The breakdown was: Air sector – £3,553m; Land sector – £509m; Sea sector – £464m and Unspecified – £515m. Comment: By way of comparison, deliveries were valued at £4,406m in 2000 and £4,216m in 2001. Orders were £4,737m in 2000 and £4,160m in 2001. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 03/39, 6 Oct 03)
16 Oct 03. The chairman of French defense and electronics group Thales SA pledged Thursday that two aircraft carriers being built for Britain’s Royal Navy by Thales and the U.K.’s BAe Systems PLC won’t go over budget. Denis Ranque didn’t comment on reports in the British press that the two contractors are being forced to consider a slimmed-down version of the 60,000- ton vessels to meet the £2.8bn budget. Thales is designing the aircraft carriers and BAe Systems are to oversees construction. Ranque said the project is still at the study stage and a final go-ahead won’t be given until next spring.
16 Oct 03. Honeywell (NYSE:HON – News) announced third-quarter earnings per share of 40 cents. Revenues of $5.8bn were up 3.6% from the previous year, Year-to-date cash flow from operations reached $1.7bn and year-to-date free cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) reached $1.3bn. On Oct 10th, Honeywell agreed to acquire Canada’s Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd, a provider of video monitoring technology, for C$11.27 per share (US$8.53).
01 Oct 03. Eurofighter GmbH announced the start of integration of the Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) to the Eurofighter Typhoon, following trials at BAE SYSTEMS Warton. The ground tests, conducted by a joint BAE SYSTEMS and MBDA team, indicated no clearance or access problems. Comment: Meteor is being procured from MBDA UK in collaboration with Germany, Italy and Spain (as Typhoon partner nations), France (for Rafale) and Sweden (for Gripen). Meteor will be the primary air-to-air weapon for Typhoon, with a forecast in-service date of August 2012. Until Meteor enters service, Typhoon will be armed with the Raytheon Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 03/39, 6 Oct 03)
Oct 03. The Chilean authorities are evaluating the HR Smith Techtest 500-27 beacon, the latest product in a long-established line of successful emergency beacons and survival radios. The beacon, is a Class 2 equipment (operating range: -20 to +55 °C), and is encased in a single thermoplastic moulding which offers low weight (650 grams nominally) and high durability, including water-proofing to a depth of 10 metres. The Techtest 500-27 GPS beacon is in use or entering service with: Royal Norwegian AF, Singapore Air Force, Brazilian Air, NFTC Programme.
15 Oct 03. Lockheed Martin announced the reorganization of its Information Systems business to better position the company for growth and disciplined program performance that supports customer satisfaction and readiness. The restructuring is designed to provide a stronger focus on new business solutions for emerging customer requirements, increase the company’s new business win rate and ensure the consistent app