06 Nov 03. The Pentagon has accepted a compromise proposal by key U.S. senators to acquire 100 Boeing Co. jetliners for use as modified refueling planes by leasing 20 and buying the rest. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in a letter made public Thursday, said the Defense Department planned to lease the initial 20 and then buy at a steady rate of 11 to 13 aircraft a year until delivery of the 100th converted 767.
20 Oct 03. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published its annual rankings of the top 300 international companies and the top 300 UK companies, by the amount of R&D investment in 2002. In the Aerospace and Defence sector 14 international companies (eight from the US and six European) were listed, with 10 companies featuring in the UK listing. EADS ($2,199m) headed the international list, followed by Boeing ($1,639m) and BAE SYSTEMS ($1,447m). The UK list was led by BAE SYSTEMS (£899m), followed by Rolls-Royce (£297m) and Smiths (£117m). Comment: R&D expenditure as a percentage of sales put Finmeccanica (14.3%) ahead of BAE SYSTEMS (11.1%) and Snecma (9.8%). The UK list was headed by BAE SYSTEMS (11.1%), followed by Meggitt (5.7%) and Rolls-Royce (5.1%). The DTI instigated its R&D ‘scoreboard’ in 1991, in an effort to stimulate investment.(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 03/42, 27 Oct 03)
04 Nov 03. DRS Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DRS – News) completed its acquisition of Integrated Defense Technologies Inc. (NYSE:IDE – News). DRS said that excluding transaction costs, it paid $543m in cash, stock, and debt assumption in the deal, first announced in August. Cash in the deal, plus $175 million in assumed net debt, totaled $436 million. DRS used cash reserves and $236 million in bank borrowings through amendments to an existing credit facility DRS also issued $350m in 6.875% notes due 2013. DRS’ long-term debt at June 30 was about $216.16m and its debt-to- equity ratio at the time was less than half the average in its industry. The completed transaction valued Integrated at $17.29 a share, based on DRS Tuesday closing price. Each Integrated common share was converted into the right to receive a combination of $12.25 in cash and 0.2027 of a share of DRS common stock.
31 Oct 03. Czech officials said that five countries — most of whom are cooperating with the United States — have submitted offers to lease 14 used fighter jets to protect the central European NATO member’s airspace. The Czechs gave up on plans to buy new jets last year and instead want to lease planes for five to 10 years after 2005 when a fleet of Soviet-made MiG 21s is retired. The Czech government steering committee said on Friday the U.S. offered F-16 planes made by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT – News). They added that the U.S. was also cooperating with Belgium and the Netherlands in offering F-16s, and with Canada which would provide Boeing F-18s. Sweden rounds out the bidders with its offer of Gripen planes.
22 Oct 03. The new helicopter obstacle warning system “Hellas” of Dornier GmbH, a unit of EADS, has provided a basic prerequisite for a world-wide application. As reported by the company on the 22nd of October, the Federal Office of Civil Aeronautics (LBA) has granted the world-wide first certification for the civil series product Hellas (Helicopter Laser Radar). This certification was preceded by a series of successful certification flights on board a Eurocopter helicopter (EC 135) of the Federal Border Guard (BGS). Certification for further countries has been requested and is to be granted soon.
05 Nov 03. CAE reported earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter (Q2) ending September 30, 2003 of C$15.1m (or 7 cents per share), (2002: C$23.3m (11 cents per share)). Consolidated revenue for the second quarter was C$246.1m, (2002: C$242.9million in the first quarter and C$252.3 million in the prior year), while the backlog of C$2.2bn at September 30 was constant with the
June 30 level. Year-to-date e