UK Defence & Aerospace Industry - General News & Discussion

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[marktigger]

RAF Hullavington looks like its going that way to

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[jonas]

I understood that Kuwait had signed an MOU to buy 28 Typhoons, although no contracts have been signed. The following article seems to put that in some doubt. Or am I reading it wrong. :-

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /79109014/

[ArmChairCivvy]

Yep, and with another two years of foot dragging by the US Administration, the deal might be consummated.

However, the for a passing moment fashionable split-buys into the Gulf area fighter fleets may now have to countenance the realities as stated at the end of that article:

"The Air Force prefers the F-18 because adding in either Eurofighter or Rafale will “require the conversion of the systems used and will be more costly and time-consuming at a time when the oil prices are collapsing and may cause problems in the future if this deal is further delayed,” he added."

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[GibMariner]

New navigation radar system for Royal Navy

New state-of-the-art navigation radars will be fitted to more than 60 Royal Navy ships, submarines and shore facilities
The new radars are the result of a £44 million contract award by the Ministry of Defence.

The contract was awarded to Hampshire based Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems UK and will modernise ship and submarine navigation systems which are critical for safe navigation at sea.

Over the next five years, the MOD’s Navigation Radar Programme will replace existing radars fitted across the fleet and shore facilities with solid-state SharpEye™ radar transceivers designed and developed in the UK by Kelvin Hughes in Enfield North London.

The radars will be fitted to the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, Hunt and Sandown class Mine Counter Measure Vessels, Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, fast patrol boats, as well as the Astute, Trafalgar and Vanguard class submarines.

The contract also includes options for the introduction of the navigation radars to future Royal Navy platforms such as the Queen Elizabeth Carriers, the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, and Successor submarines.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new- ... um=twitter

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[bobp]

Interesting to note that the new River class OPV for Thailand is expected to cost between 50-80 million dollars. Also they have a requirement for more of the class.



http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /79630240/

[shark bait]

They are reportedly also interested in building the Khareef-class corvette under licence.

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

I believe i posted a little way back on one of the threads here that Bangladesh is also reportedly interested in acquiring a number of OPVs, specifically of the River design. Not sure how verifiable the source was but it'd be interesting to see if it came to fruition as well. Here's hoping.

[RetroSicotte]

If they did, it'd almost certainly be the 3 "old" Rivers.

Still, better than scrapping them. Bit of money in return to account for the Batch 2's rather high cost wouldn't go amiss.

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

If they did, it'd almost certainly be the 3 "old" Rivers.

Still, better than scrapping them. Bit of money in return to account for the Batch 2's rather high cost wouldn't go amiss.

Possibly, it would depend on the exact nature of their requirement i guess. They may have their sights, presuming this is all true, on the newer Amazonas based models.

[bobp]

All in its some good news for the River Class with various foreign sales and interest. With the Royal Navy getting more it may produce further overseas interest.

[RetroSicotte]

All in its some good news for the River Class with various foreign sales and interest. With the Royal Navy getting more it may produce further overseas interest.

Funny what a little demonstrated confidence in your own product will do, ain't it?

Now I'm sure people will be rabid to buy that Type 26 that we...cut orders on.

Wait, they'll go for that awesome mini-missile Martlet after we...oh wait, we've integrated it on a single platform.

Hey, Brimstone's all fired up for Typhoon and F-35! Wait, not F-35? Reapers? No?

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[The Armchair Soldier]

Boeing's 737 MAX to undergo wind tunnel testing in the UK.

Boeing to Begin Final Phase of 737 MAX Wind Tunnel Testing

SINGAPORE, Feb. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today that the final phase of wind tunnel testing, a major milestone in airplane development, will begin on the 737 MAX program next week.

"Wind tunnel testing is on the critical design path of the program," said Michael Teal, chief project engineer and deputy program manager, 737 MAX program. "Based on previous work in the wind tunnel, we are confident this final phase of testing will substantiate our predictions of the aerodynamic performance of the airplane."

Testing will begin at QinetiQ's test facility in Farnborough, U.K., where engineers will substantiate the forecasted low-speed performance of the 737 MAX on takeoff and landing. A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical advice to customers in the global aerospace, defense and security markets.

Read More: http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2012-02-12- ... el-Testing

[bobp]

It seems the UK has become the place for testing, only a few days ago Lockheed announced more F35 testing at Brough with BAE.

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[The Armchair Soldier]

Bombardier to cut up to 1,000 jobs in NI

The aerospace firm Bombardier has said it will cut up to 1,000 jobs from its Northern Ireland operation.

The company said that 580 jobs will go this year with up to 500 more next year. That is equivalent to around 20% of its workforce in Northern Ireland.

Bombardier is cutting 7,000 jobs across its global workforce.

The company has been under severe financial pressure as cost overruns on its new C Series jet have drained cash out of the company.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35594320

[jonas]

BAE in Saudi Hawk deal :-

http://en.terra.com/news/news/saudi_sig ... /act479867