Defense Daily International articles from March 2007

Defense Daily International archives from March 2007

Australian MoD Releases New Defense Industrial Policy.
March 2, 2007... Australia's Minister of Defence released a new Defence Industry Policy, to achieve the cost-effective delivery of equipment and support to ensure the men and women of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have the best possible advantage when...

Minister Chides Contractors For Galileo Delays.
March 2, 2007... By Dave Ahearn Contractors that are to build Galileo, the European global positioning system, have dithered far too long in deciding how their joint company shall be structured, according to Wolfgang Tiefensee, German federal minister of...

United Kingdom Orders Lockheed Martin's Sniper Targeting Pods For Harrier Jets.
March 2, 2007... By Michael Sirak The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered Lockheed Martin's[LMT] Sniper advanced targeting pod for its Harrier GR9 ground-attack aircraft, the company said recently. The number of Snipers on order was...

Obering Scoffs At Russian Worries Over European BMD System.
March 2, 2007... By Dave Ahearn Alleged Russian fears that a U.S.-provided European ballistic missile defense (BMD) system would threaten Russian ICBMs are baseless and ludicrous, according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, the Missile Defense Agency...

Denmark Inks F-35 Follow-On Deal; All Partner Nations Now Onboard For Upcoming Phases.
March 2, 2007... By Michael Sirak Denmark recently became the eighth and final partner nation to join the United States in the production and support phases of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft program by signing the project's follow-on...

QinetiQ's Team ImpaQt To Research 155mm Guided Munition Technology.
March 2, 2007... QinetiQ, as U.K. prime contractor for Team ImpaQt, has secured an approximately $9.8 million contract for a 30-month long Output 6 research program into 155mm Guided Munition (GM) technology, the company said recently. The program focuses...

Army Orders Thousands of Thales' MBITR Radios.
March 2, 2007... France's Thales recently said that the U.S. Army has ordered more than 5,000 units of its AN/PRC-148 Joint Tactical Radio System Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radios (MBITR), or JEM. Thales Communications, Inc., based in Maryland,...

Taiwan Looking To Spend $412 Million On AMRAAM and Maverick Missiles.
March 2, 2007... Taiwan is seeking the purchase of 218 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 235 Maverick missiles as well as associated equipment and services, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The total value...

Mutual Split Between Elbit, Bulgaria Over Helo Upgrades.
March 9, 2007... By B.C. Kessner TEL AVIV, Israel--In what should be the final chapter of a tumultuous and nearly three-year business negotiations saga, Israel's Elbit Systems [ESLY] and the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense (MoD) have agreed to cancel a...

IAF Ceremoniously Receives War-Proven Heron UAS.
March 9, 2007... By B.C. Kessner TEL AVIV, Israel--The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) known to the Israel Air Force (IAF) as "Shoval" and as "Heron" to Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) international customers was officially received yesterday by the...

Australian MoD Releases New Defense Industrial Policy.
March 9, 2007... Australia's Minister of Defence released a new Defence Industry Policy, to achieve the cost-effective delivery of equipment and support to ensure the men and women of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have the best possible advantage when...

Forces Korea Commander Calls For Upgrade In Vehicle Fleet.
March 9, 2007... By Jen DiMascio Stocks of aerial-delivery munitions and major items of equipment like Humvees and trucks are under the most stress because of the war in Iraq, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea said yesterday. Gen. Burwell Bell was...

Qatari Customs A Headache For U.S. Contractors Heading To Iraq.
March 16, 2007... By Calvin Biesecker U.S. contractor personnel supporting war operations in Iraq are having a difficult time getting there with their government issued personal protection equipment if they have to transit through Doha International...

Boeing Assumes Responsibility For U.K. Chinook Support.
March 16, 2007... Boeing [BA] recently announced it is now responsible for the United Kingdom's Chinook Through-Life Customer Support (TLCS) program and is providing spare parts, support equipment and component repairs to the Royal Air Force's (RAF) 40 Chinook...

Oshkosh Truck To Refurbish Line Haul Tractors In Kuwait.
March 16, 2007... By Ann Roosevelt FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- Oshkosh Truck [OSK] is adding refurbishment of Line Haul tractors to its work on the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) at the company's facility in Kuwait. The Army TPER work on the M915...

Meggitt To Acquire K&F Industries.
March 16, 2007... Meggitt USA, the United States-based subsidiary of Britain's Meggitt PLC, recently said it has agreed to acquire K&F Industries [KFI] in a $1.8 billion deal. Meggitt said it would pay $27 in cash per share for K&F, a 10 percent premium...

Airbus Leads EADS To Lower Earnings, Higher Sales.(Financial report)
March 16, 2007... The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) on Friday reported a hefty decline in operating earnings for 2006 due to difficulties in completing work on its super jumbo passenger aircraft the A380 although sales increased a healthy...

Army Likely To Restore Cuts For Tri-National MEADS Funding, Official Says.
March 16, 2007... By Ann Roosevelt Potential FY '08-'09 budget cuts in the United States portion of funding for the U.S., German and Italian-funded Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) are likely to be restored, according to a corporate official....

German Bundeswehr Buys More EOD iRobot Packbots.
March 16, 2007... iRobot Corp. [IRBT] March 7 said it received an order of more than $2.8 million for 22 additional iRobot PackBot(r) Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) robots and spare parts from the German Bundeswehr (Federal Defense Force). This is the...

Elbit Says It's Poised For Greater U.S. Market Share.
March 16, 2007... By B.C. Kessner TEL AVIV, Israel--The $600 million in revenues that Israel's Elbit Systems [ESLT] earned in the United States last year was key to its soaring financial results but the company's sights are fixed on greater business in...

U.S. Responders Implement Israeli Firm's New Info Management Tool.
March 23, 2007... By B.C. Kessner TEL AVIV, Israel--Before, during and after first responders react to an incident, loads of information is collected from disparate sensors and recording systems and now several U.S. homeland security organizations are...

U.K. Office To Review Proposed GE Deal For Smiths Aerospace.
March 23, 2007... The United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently said it will review the pending $4.8 billion acquisition by General Electric [GE] of Smiths Aerospace, which is part of Britain's Smiths Group. The deal is already being...

Tenix, Northrop Grumman and Saab Team In Bid For Austalian MUAS.(partnerships)
March 23, 2007... Tenix Aerospace and Defence announced it has teamed with Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Saab Systems in an effort to become the Industry Capability Partner for Phase 1b of the Australian AIR 7000 project. Under the $800 million plus program,...

GAO: More Tests Planned of U.S. VISIT Exit Procedures At Air And Seaports.
March 23, 2007... The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning further pilot tests at United States air and seaports of biometric-enabled solutions to verify the exit of certain foreigners leaving the country, the Government Accountability Office...

Australia Releases Updated Network Centric Warfare Roadmap.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Australia's updated Network Centric Warfare (NCW) Roadmap 2007 that outlines the steps to achieve the goal of a combined joint seamless NCW force by 2020 was officially released yesterday by the Head Capability Systems, in Defence's...

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Sees Significant Sales Increase In 2006.
March 30, 2007... Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) announced this week that in 2006 sales increased by roughly 70 percent to about $1.3 billion. The order intake was above the sales figures. "Krauss-Maffei Wegmann has successfully completed the year 2006 and...

Lockheed Martin U.K. Successfully Completes FRES Technology Demonstration.
March 30, 2007... Lockheed Martin U.K. [LMT] recently said it has successfully completed the trial aspect of a Technology Demonstration Program (TDP) for its conceptual Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) Electronic Architecture (EA) at two U.K. test...

Tenix Restructures Defense Business.
March 30, 2007... Australia's largest defense contractor, Tenix, has restructured its defence business to meet emerging challenges and opportunities in this important industry sector, the company said March 23. Tenix Defence Pty Ltd has been reorganized...

Air Force Explores Aeromedical Evacuation Cooperation With Russia.(Brief article)
March 30, 2007... By Michael Sirak The Air Force is exploring avenues of cooperation with Russia in the realm of aeromedical evacuation, the service's top general in Europe told reporters this week. While the Air Force already has "world-class"...

Congress Likely to Address Third Interceptor Site This Year, Analysts Say.
March 30, 2007... By Jen DiMascio Construction of a third ground-based interceptor site in Eastern Europe is likely to be one of the top missile defense issues for Congress during this budget cycle, according to activists and analysts. Recently, Air...

Israeli Arrow Interceptor Successful In Fly-Out Test.(Israel Aerospace Industries-MLM)(Brief article)
March 30, 2007... The Arrow program recently conducted a successful fly out test of an improved capability Arrow interceptor, the Israeli Ministry of Defense said. The test, the16th for the interceptor, is part of Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP),...

Lockheed Martin Bracing For Israel Budget Decisions.
March 30, 2007... By B.C Kessner TEL AVIV, Israel-- Lockheed Martin [LMT] executives are in Israel this week updating potential customers and trying to keep momentum for key planned programs such as the F-35 Lightening II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), as...

U.S., NATO Commands Leverage Work To Improve Forces, General Says.
March 30, 2007... By Ann Roosevelt U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) works closely with NATO's Transformation Command in training and technology efforts to develop better command and control and interoperability between U.S. forces and NATO allies,...

Navy Won't Build VH-71 Helo Overseas, Supports Single JSF Engine.
March 30, 2007... By Geoff Fein The Navy has no intention of building its Increment II of the VH-71 presidential helicopter in another country, Navy Secretary Donald Winter told lawmakers recently. "We are not considering producing these vehicles...