News by Topics: Business

France Expects 1st Batch of Reapers Soon

France expects the US will soon approve the speedy shipment of two Reaper surveillance drones after sending a formal request in early May, American and French sources said.

• May. 17, 2013

CEOs Talk Sequestration Challenges

Faced with a new budget reality, industry and the Pentagon are looking for ways to streamline contracting and pursue new innovations, a panel of CEOs said today.

• May. 16, 2013

Is A Billion-Dollar Border Security Program Finally Due?

The Department of Homeland Security has taken a positive step in one of the longer running procurement sagas of recent years, issuing downselect notices to several contractors to compete in the next phase of a controversial border security program, source

• May. 14, 2013

India Opens Gun, Missile Competition to Domestic Firms

India's Ministry of Defence has floated a competition for gun/missile systems for the Army. And in a first for the MoD, it is asking domestic companies to participate along with overseas firms.

• May. 12, 2013

Former Arms Industry Boom Town Struggles in Bulgaria

At the foot of the Balkan mountains, the Bulgarian town of Sopot remembers with nostalgia its glory days as a booming arms industry center under communism.

• May. 10, 2013

Sources: India Might Not Blacklist Finmeccanica

While no decision has been made to blacklist Italian helicopter maker AgustaWestland over alleged bribery charges, sources within the Indian Defence Ministry say officers there believe neither the firm nor parent company Finmeccanica should be banned from

• May. 9, 2013

Avio Sale Puts New Italian Law to the Test

A new Italian law guaranteeing the government's influence over strategic companies will be put to use for the first time as General Electric (GE) purchases the aviation activity of Italian propulsion firm Avio.

• May. 9, 2013

Industry Report: Increase DoD Buys From US Defense, Manufacturing Firms

A new industry report warns of a coming U.S. national security crisis that could be spawned by a 'growing and dangerous' reliance on combat system components and raw materials purchased from foreign sources.

• May. 8, 2013

Turkey Sanctions Boeing for Delays

Turkey has imposed sanctions on Boeing for major delays in the US company's spy plane program, a top Turkish official said. But Turkish leaders are not disclosing the penalties, citing commercial secrecy.

• May. 8, 2013

Selex Artillery-Pointing System Wins Export Orders

Selex ES has secured export contracts for its LINAPS artillery-pointing system from armed forces in the United Arab Emirates, Poland and New Zealand, the Finmeccanica-owned company announced Wednesday.

• May. 8, 2013

Former Finmeccanica CEO's Trial Date Set

Giuseppe Orsi, the former CEO of Italian group Finmeccanica, will stand trial on June 19 on accusations of corruption linked to a 2010 deal to sell AW101 helicopters to India.

• May. 6, 2013

The Challenge of Buying Cyber Companies

Every major US defense contractor is busy building a new cyber center or announcing a revolutionary new cyber tool.

• May. 5, 2013

French-US Venture High Hopes for Radar Prospects

ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) expects sales of digital Ground Master (GM) air defense radars to France to slow, but the French-American joint venture is bullish on prospects elsewhere in Europe and in North Africa, the Middle East and South America, CEO Jac

• May. 3, 2013

Defense Industry Says Spending Cuts Lowering Job Gains

Defense spending cuts are starting to take a toll on the economy, further slowing a sluggish jobs recovery.

• May. 3, 2013

Former MoD Procurement Chief to Head Northrop's European Ops

Northrop Grumman has appointed former British Ministry of Defence procurement boss Andrew Tyler as chief executive of the company's UK and European operations.

• May. 3, 2013

India's New Rules Could Mean More Overseas Tie-ups

India's decision to buy foreign weapons only if it can't find a domestic source is likely to drive more joint ventures between Indian and international firms, while further slowing down an already notoriously slow and tedious procurement system.

• Apr. 30, 2013

Bonuses, Stock Options Drive Up US Defense CEO Compensation

On the same day in March that Lockheed Martin warned that sequestration could lead to thousands of employee furloughs and layoffs, America's largest federal contractor disclosed it had just boosted the compensation of its former chief executive officer by

• Apr. 28, 2013

Brazil's Embraer, AgustaWestland drop helicopter plans

Top Brazilian plane maker Embraer and Italy's AgustaWestland have dropped joint-venture talks to produce the Anglo-Italian company's helicopters in the South American country.

• Apr. 24, 2013

Turkey's Indigenous Trainer Nears Maiden Flight

An indigenous basic trainer aircraft that Turkey designed and has been developing is going through a final round of tests before it makes its maiden flight in June, according to officials from its maker, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

• Apr. 23, 2013

DRS Write-down Drives $1B Finmeccanica Loss

Italy's Finmeccanica announced a net loss of €786 million (US $1.02 billion) for 2012 on Feb. 23, due mainly to a write-down of the value of US electronics unit DRS.

• Apr. 23, 2013

Eurocopter Boss 'Confident' France Will Come Through With NH90 Order

Outgoing Eurocopter Chief Executive Lutz Bertling said he is 'pretty confident' France will come through with an order for more NH90 Army helicopters, but the number of units might be smaller than expected.

• Apr. 23, 2013

Report: Chinese Testing Infrastructure with Cyber Intrusions

Cyber espionage is on the rise, and increasingly Chinese attackers are targeting critical infrastructure, probing networks to see what they can get away with, a new report from Verizon released Tuesday found.

• Apr. 23, 2013

Jet Engine Maker Safran Raises 2013 Target After Sales Jump

French aerospace group Safran raised on Tuesday its 2013 sales target after posting an annualized 9.5 percent jump in the first quarter of the year and said it would buy Rolls-Royce's half of a helicopter engine joint venture.

• Apr. 23, 2013

Turkish Plethora of 'First National Systems' at Full Speed

Hardly a day passes without a Turkish defense company proudly announcing that it has designed, developed and produced a weapon system the country would normally buy off-the-shelf from a foreign supplier.

• Apr. 22, 2013

Finmeccanica Establishes Ethics Board

In the wake of a corruption probe that prompted the arrest of its former CEO, Italy's Finmeccanica has announced creation of an ethics watchdog and said it will review all consultancy contracts handed out in the last three years.

• Apr. 17, 2013

French Defense Company Chiefs Warn of a Weaker Industry Under Budget Cuts

The top executives of seven large defense companies warned President François Hollande April 15 of job losses, weaker competences and a threat to French leadership in Europe if the government cuts military spending.

• Apr. 15, 2013

Canada Allows Firms To Fix Bid Errors

VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Canadian government has introduced a provision to allow defense firms to repair their bids on military equipment programs. The provision is an attempt to head off situations in which companies vying for a contract are disqualified over minor infractions.

• Apr. 15, 2013

Lagardere Books 1.8B Euros From EADS Share Sale

PARIS — French media group Lagardere said Monday it made a capital gain of 1.8 billion euros ($2.35 billion) for the sale of a 7.4 percent stake in the European defense and aerospace company EADS.

• Apr. 15, 2013

Report: Germany Looking To Buy Weaponized Drones From Israel

BERLIN — Germany is in talks with Israel to buy weaponized drones for its military that are seen as more technologically advanced than U.S. ones, the weekly Der Spiegel reported.

• Apr. 14, 2013

Finmeccanica Pulls Trigger On 2,500 Selex ES Cuts

ROME — After streamlining operations at its Alenia Aeronautica unit, Italy’s Finmeccanica is continuing its restructuring mission by preparing to cut more than 2,500 jobs at its Selex ES electronics unit, which employs 17,000.

• Apr. 14, 2013

Chile Nixes Jet Purchases, May Be Eyeing F-16 Upgrade

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Chilean air force has scrapped a planned buy of advanced jet trainers according to sources in Latin America.

• Apr. 11, 2013

Legislators Working to Kill Missile Defense Program

WASHINGTON — The reaction to the Pentagon’s decision to continue to fund a controversial missile defense program that the Army has said it plans to defund after this year has been swift, and may be gaining some traction.

• Apr. 11, 2013

Thales UK Unit Takes New Tack With Laser Systems

BELFAST — Renowned as a supplier of very short-range air defense missiles, the Northern Ireland arm of Thales UK is banking on the growing threat to warships from electro-optically guided weapons to attract an international partner and help it complete development of a laser-powered soft kill system.

• Apr. 11, 2013

Selex, AEL Partnering on Airborne Radar Technologies in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Finmeccanica company Selex ES is on track to form a joint venture with AEL Sistemas to collaborate on support and development of airborne radar technologies in Brazil.

• Apr. 11, 2013

Source: Raytheon Radar Wins S. Korea Fighter Upgrade

TAIPEI — South Korea has selected Raytheon over Northrop Grumman to provide active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radars for upgrades to its fighter jets, said Jim Hvizd, vice president of International Strategy and Business Development for Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems Division, during a teleconference on April 10.

• Apr. 10, 2013

AEL To Provide Avionics If Brazil Chooses Gripen NG for FX-2

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — AEL-built avionics will be installed in the Brazilian version of the Gripen NG if the fast jet secures a deal to supply the Brazilian Air Force with a new fighter Saab, executives said Tuesday at the LAAD defense and security conference here.

• Apr. 10, 2013

Malaysia Looks To Refresh Fighter Force

LANGKAWI, Malaysia — Western fighter jet manufacturers attended the 12th Langkawi Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition in Malaysia, anticipating the launch of that country’s delayed Multi-Role Combat Aircraft program, but recent conflict has refocused attention on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, particularly maritime surveillance.

• Apr. 10, 2013

Embraer Inks Deal to Supply A-29 Tucanos to Guatemala

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Embraer Defense & Security will supply a fleet of A-29 Tucano aircraft and a network of surveillance and control systems to protect a jungle reserve in Guatemala from illegal exploitation, the company said Tuesday.

• Apr. 10, 2013

7 Latin American Nations Launch Basic Trainer Development

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A new basic trainer development has been launched by seven Latin American nations with the aim of having the first aircraft flying as early as 2015.

• Apr. 10, 2013

Cyber Sparks Flying in Korean Powder Keg

WASHINGTON — The problem with cyber attacks is that victims all too often face a complex maze when trying to find the source of the strike, leading to months of digging for few conclusive answers. But in the environment of grandiose nuclear threats and escalating hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, both sides seem to be trying a new tactic: blame first, figure it out later.

• Apr. 9, 2013

Swiss Purchase of Swedish Fighter Jets Flies Deeper into the Fog

GENEVA — Switzerland’s purchase of 22 Swedish fighter jets hit a new snag Tuesday as the Swiss parliament suspended funding discussions, amid reports that EADS was trying to undercut the deal by offering used fighters at half-price.

• Apr. 9, 2013

Singapore Buys AMRAAMs To Kill Pirates and Terrorists

TAIPEI — The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) approved Singapore’s $246 million request for 120 air-to-air missiles and the U.S. Congress was notified of the sale on April 3.

• Apr. 9, 2013

Saab Gets 2nd Deal to Upgrade E-99 Systems for Brazilian Air Force

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Saab has secured a second deal in little more than a month to help upgrade five Brazilian Air Force E-99 airborne early warning and control systems.

• Apr. 9, 2013

Eurocopter: Dropping NH90 Order Would Hurt France, Firm

PARIS — France faces a penalty of about 35 million euros ($45 million), loss of some 1,000 jobs, and a transfer of industrial workshare to Italy and the Netherlands if the government decides against ordering a second batch of 34 NH90 Army helicopters, a Eurocopter document said.

• Apr. 8, 2013

Thales UK Unit Takes New Tack With Laser Systems

• Apr. 7, 2013

Finmeccanica to slash 2,529 jobs in Italy, UK

Italy’s Finmeccanica has announced it will ax 25 sites and cut 2,529 jobs in Italy and the UK at its Selex ES unit.

• Apr. 6, 2013

India May Increase Preference to Domestic Defense Companies

NEW DELHI — India may change its weapon procurement policies to give preference to domestic defense industry.

• Apr. 5, 2013

Italy Considers Jeep for Recon Vehicle

ROME — The Italian connection with Jeep, the storied U.S. vehicle manufacturer, has just gotten stronger.

• Apr. 5, 2013

Report: India-France Rafale Deal Stalled

NEW DELHI — India’s negotiations with France’s Dassault Aviation on a $12-billion deal for Rafale fighter jets have stalled due to disagreements over the production of the planes in India, a report said Friday.

• Apr. 5, 2013