Defense Daily International articles from October 2008

Defense Daily International archives from October 2008

First C-27J Delivered On Time, On Budget To Joint Program Office.
October 3, 2008... L-3 Communications [LLL] last week said it presented the first C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) to the Army-Air Force joint program office on schedule and on budget. This was the first of a planned 78 aircraft, contractor said. The L-3...

Turkey Wants To Buy More AMRAAM Missiles.
October 3, 2008... Turkey could spend $157 million to buy AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and associated spares and equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress Sept. 26. Turkey requested a...

Pakistan Wants AH-1F Cobra Helicopter Refurbishment.
October 3, 2008... Pakistan could spend as much as $115 million if Congress approves a potential Foreign Military Sale of AH-1F Cobra helicopter refurbishment, associated equipment and services. Pakistan has requested a possible sale of refurbishment and...

Israel Looks To Spend $15 Billion For CTOL Variant of F-35.
October 3, 2008... The Israeli government is seeking to spend upward of $15.2 billion for 25 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighters with an option to purchase 50 additional aircraft, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). ...

QinetiQ Shows Off New Smaller, Lightweight, Lower Cost Robotic Systems.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... QinetiQ Tuesday put on display their latest low-cost, lightweight robotic systems designed for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. The company had the units on display at the Modern Day Marine expo at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va....

General Dynamics', Elbit's Skylark UAVs Making Inroads With Army, Marine Corps.
October 3, 2008... General Dynamics [GD] and Israel's Elbit Systems' [ESLT] are hoping their Skylark II Long Endurance (LE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will capture the contract for the joint Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical UAS Tier II program. The...

General Dynamics', Elbit's Skylark UAVs Making Inroads With Army, Marine Corps.
October 10, 2008... General Dynamics [GD] and Israel's Elbit Systems' [ESLT] are hoping their Skylark II Long Endurance (LE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will capture the contract for the joint Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical UAS Tier II program. The...

Brazil Spending $525 Million For 15 Black Hawk Helicopters.
October 10, 2008... Brazil is looking to spend upward of $525 million for 15 Sikorsky [UTX] UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters as well as associated equipment and services, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The Black Hawk helicopters...

International Arena A Growth Area, Boeing Global Services & Support, Exec Says.
October 10, 2008... Boeing [BA]'s Global Services & Support (GSS) segment plans to expand its efforts worldwide, and part of that is looking at international opportunities, according to the unit's top executive. "As we continue to grow the business and Jim...

Heavy Force Combat Vehicles Still Vital, BAE Systems Exec Says.
October 10, 2008... Downward pressures on the defense budgets and concerns about the Army moving funds from current force heavy combat vehicles into Future Combat Systems (FCS) work is part of the current environment, but for a top BAE Systems executive, what...

U.K. Seeking $1 Billion FMS To Convert KC-135Rs Into RC-135V/W Rivet Joints.(Brief article)
October 10, 2008... The United Kingdom is looking to spend $1.06 billion to convert three U.S. Air Force KC-135R aircraft into RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft, as well as associated equipment and services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reported....

$6 Billion Taiwan FMS Request Includes PAC-3 Missiles, Apache Helicopters.
October 10, 2008... Taiwan is seeking more than $6.4 billion in FMS for Patriot Advanced Capbility-3 (PAC-3) guided missiles, AH-64D Apache helicopters, UGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles, E-2T retrofit upgrades and Javelin guided missile systems, according to...

Obama, McCain Welcome News of Possible Arms Sale To Taiwan.
October 17, 2008... The major presidential candidates are welcoming word of a possible Pentagon-brokered $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, with Sen. John McCain (R- Ariz.) calling for the deal to include even more weapons systems and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)...

DHS Making Strides In Information Security, IG Finds.
October 17, 2008... The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is making progress in complying with federal security regulations for information security, although component agencies are still not implementing all of the department's policies, according to the...

Korean Shipyards Demonstrating Significant Production Rates, Official Says.
October 17, 2008... South Korean shipyards are achieving significant production rates, upward of a ship per week, and there are no signs the facilities are planning to slow down, according to Navy Secretary Donald Winter, who recently returned visiting them....

Air Force Orders 18 Refurbished Italian Transports For Afghan Air Corps.
October 17, 2008... ROME--Italy's Finmeccanica recently said its Alenia North America subsidiary won a $287 million Air Force contract for 18 G222 tactical transport aircraft bound for the Afghanistan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC). "Today's announcement is...

DCNS Automatic System Lands UAV On Underway French Frigate.
October 17, 2008... French naval defense contractor DCNS recently landed a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aboard the French navy frigate Montcalm while the vessel was underway in the Mediterranean Sea, DCNS said recently. The company said the...

Thales Targets U.S. Market With New Lightweight UAV-Launched Missile.
October 17, 2008... Thales is developing a lightweight multirole missile (LMM) to offer a low-cost precision-strike capability for a variety of air-, land- and sea-based platforms, but particularly for unmanned air vehicles (UAV). "The UAV community is in...

SAFRAN To Acquire Motorola's Biometric Matching Business.
October 17, 2008... France's SAFRAN Group yesterday said it has agreed to acquire the biometrics business of Motorola [MOT] in a deal that would expand its already robust fingerprint matching business in the United States and globally. Terms of the pending...

Finmeccanica's Deal For DRS Clears CFIUS Hurdle.
October 17, 2008... The pending acquisition of DRS Technologies [DRS] by Italy's Finmeccanica has received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), moving the deal one big step closer to completion. The companies said...

Northrop Grumman Wins U.K. Contract For Accident Data Recording System.
October 24, 2008... Northrop Grumman [NOC] announced this week it has been awarded a three- year $16 million contract modification by the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) to develop and install a replacement Accident Data Recording System (ADRS) for the Sentry...

State Department Awards Northrop Grumman African Contingency Work.(Brief article)
October 24, 2008... Department of State has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a five-month $36 million task order under the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) contract to provide equipment and logistics services. "Northrop Grumman's...

Bushmaster Reaches Production Milestone.(Thales Australia )(Brief article)
October 24, 2008... Thales Australia said the 500th Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle has rolled off the production line in Bendigo, Victoria, serving as testament to the many people from Thales and the Commonwealth who had successfully collaborated on the...

Rafael to Display Upgraded Toplite Surveillance and Targeting System.(Rafael Advanced Defense Systems )
October 24, 2008... Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Wednesday said it would display the Toplite EOS Electro-Optic (E/O) surveillance, reconnaissance and weapon direction system with its new imaging processing capabilities at the Land Warfare Conference...

IAI and MDA Delivers First Heron UAS to Canada.
October 24, 2008... Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Wednesday said it delivered through MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) the first leased Heron unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to the Canadian air force for operations in Afghanistan. IAI and...

Australia To Reduce ADF Deployment to East Timor-Sign of Stability.(Brief article)
October 24, 2008... The Australian Defence Force will reduce its total force presence in East Timor to approximately 650 personnel by early next year. The reduction in the total number of deployed personnel under Operation ASTUTE is appropriate given...

Boeing Partner Picked For Saudi C-130 Maintenance.
October 24, 2008... Boeing [BA] partner Alsalam Aircraft was recently awarded a three-year $29 million contract to provide programmed depot maintenance (PDM) for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) C-130 fleet. "We are honored to have this contract," Mohammed...

Lockheed Martin Completes Air Defense, Communications Net For Romanian Air Force.
October 31, 2008... Lockheed Martin [LMT] announced Oct. 30 it has completed installation of an air defense and communications network modernization project for the Romanian Air Force. The project, completed by Lockheed Martin and several Romanian...

27 October 2008 Australia's New Special Operations Vehicles Delivered.(Brief article)
October 31, 2008... Australia's Minister for Defence the Hon, Joel Fitzgibbon inspected the first Nary Special Operations Vehicles, procured from the U.K.'s Supacat Limited, to be delivered while visiting the Special Air Services Regiment (SASR) at Campbell...

Saudi Typhoon Makes First Flight in U.K.
October 31, 2008... Britain's BAE Systems recently said a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft "in the full two-tone grey livery of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF)" made its initial flight at BAE's Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire, North West England. This milestone...

Australian Super Hornet Project A Go.
October 31, 2008... Members of Parliament (MP) in Australia recently said that the $117.1 million facilities project to support the introduction of the new Boeing [BA] F/A-18F Super Hornet has been approved. "The Super Hornet's advanced, networked weapons...

U.K. To Buy 700 More Vehicles To Protect Troops In Afghanistan.
October 31, 2008... Defence Secretary John Hutton announced more than $1.1 billion for an extra 700 vehicles to further improve the safety and protection of our troops on operations in Afghanistan. The Oct. 29 announcement included; about $572 million for...

General Dynamics UK Ltd. Opens Defense Innovation Center.
October 31, 2008... General Dynamics [GD] United Kingdom Limited Oct. 30 opened its pioneering defence innovation center. The opening ceremony was conducted by Andrew Tyler, chief operating officer of the U.K. Ministry of Defence's Defence Equipment & Support...