UK Defence & Aerospace Industry - General News & Discussion

[The Armchair Soldier]

Defence a New Priority for Government, Says BAE Chief

Defence giant BAE Systems reveals solid results as boss Ian King welcomes stability of defence review and rising military budgets.

BAE Systems says defence spending has been prioritised by the Government to levels not seen in decades.
Delivering a solid set of results, Ian King, chief executive of FTSE 100 group, said protecting Britain’s security will allow arms makers such as BAE to “thrive”.

Reporting annual revenue up 7.6pc to £17.9bn in the 12 months to December 2015, but underlying earnings down slightly at £1.68bn because of previously announced issues, he welcomed the positive future for military spending set out by the Government’s strategic defence and security (SDSR) review in November.

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... sults.html

[The Armchair Soldier]

Brimstone being offered to the French for their Tiger upgrade:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defe ... es-forward

[shark bait]

yeah right

[arfah]

....................

[arfah]

......................

[arfah]

.....................

[bobp]

US drops JSOW bomb from f35c
http://www.janes.com/article/59223/f-35 ... off-weapon

[arfah]

..................

[bobp]

Cameron to privatise air defence...

[GibMariner]

Galliford Try to build £15m Royal Navy survival centre

The new centre at the Royal Naval Air Service base at Yeovilton will contain pools to train personnel in escaping from a submerged aircraft or amphibious vehicle

The deal was let through the DIO’s Next Generation Estates Contracts (NGEC) National Capital Works Framework.

Construction of the dunk tanks forms part of the MOD’s commitment to modernise the military infrastructure and ensure the best possible safety training for the UK’s Armed Forces.

Simon Jones, Project Manager at the DIO said: “Building this facility is an important part of our commitment to world-class military training and the signing of this contract is an important first milestone in this process.

“Building work will commence shortly and we aim to hand the facility over to the Royal Navy in December 2017.”

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/201 ... rneQt2Gut2

[GibMariner]

Warships: Shipbuilding:Written question - 35480

Asked by Chris Stephens

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the terms of reference are for the National Shipbuilding Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by: Mr Philip Dunne

The National Shipbuilding Strategy is intended to place UK shipbuilding on a sustainable long-term footing. It will look at how to build a new complex warship on a regular schedule and maximise export opportunities in order to deliver capable ships and value for money, as well as maintaining jobs and skills. It will ensure that the Royal Navy continues to have the capability it needs to protect our nation's interests, retaining its status as the most modern Navy in the world. Sir John Parker has been appointed as the Independent Chair of the Strategy. He will bring strong strategic direction and guidance to the work, and report to Ministers. He will lead the high level engagement with key stakeholders.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publi ... -25/35480/

[ArmChairCivvy]

build a new complex warship on a regular schedule [...] ensure that the Royal Navy continues [...] retaining its status as the most modern Navy in the world.

Err, when was the last new order for a major (=complex) warship placed?

But good news about Sir John Parker, had not seen that detail before.

[shark bait]

Err, when was the last new order for a major (=complex) warship placed?

At least there is now a recognition that is whats needed. Now they need to deliver on a regular long term schedule.

If done properly, it will be a very important document for the Navy. The document has to be the real deal this time, its getting to the stage where we can no longer afford to keep differing these big decisions.

[ArmChairCivvy]

Fully agree, as we have had documents with a similar name before
- has to be got right this time around

[shark bait]

Boaty McBoatface lives on, HMG avoided an embarrassment by naming an AUV Boaty McBoatface, that will be operated from RRS Sir David Attenborough, a much better name.

Quite a neat and humorous solution.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks- ... tenborough

• the ship is 128 metres long – or more than 5 tennis courts
• it weighs 15,000 gross tonnes – that’s one and a half times the weight of the Eiffel Tower
• it has 900 cubic metres of space for scientific cargo – that’s almost 3 squash courts
• it will have 30 crew and 60 scientists and support staff

No use of the ISO measurement of London buses.

A design for a future auxiliary perhaps? or MHC?

[bobp]

Contract for upgrades to Falkland Island Airport.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... rport.html

[The Armchair Soldier]

UK's First £150 million Spaceport Ready for Launch

Cornwall might be a beach holiday hotspot – but tourists looking for something a bit more out of this world could soon be heading there for the UK's first spaceport .

Plans for a £150 million British rocket launch site will be revealed this week and officials have earmarked six potential sites.

Newquay in Cornwall is the favourite to become the first spaceport outside America – meaning travellers could be rocketing off for a six-hour flight within years.

Locations in Wales and Scotland are also under consideration for what could become the European hub for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, reports The Sun.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "The economic potential is huge."

The plans will be revealed in the Modern Transport Bill as part of the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.

Read More: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk ... rt-7972007

[shark bait]

Good news...... But hmmmmmmmm

"Newquay in Cornwall is the favourite to become the first spaceport outside America"

[arfah]

.....................

[ArmChairCivvy]

It works by jamming signals to drones, making them unresponsive.

Sounds like a great anti-collision measure... of course freezing a drone that is just about to target you for the OpFor arty or rocket bn does make sense.

[arfah]

......................

[The Armchair Soldier]

There is now a section dedicated to discussing equipment made by the UK defence and aerospace industry, but not used by the British Armed Forces: http://ukdefenceforum.net/viewforum.php?f=48

Please post all your defence industry product-related discussions there.

This thread will now host non-equipment related defence industry topics.

[GibMariner]

Boeing:Written question - 40670

Asked by Mr Kevan Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current value of contracts is between his Department and Boeing and Boeing UK; and what proportion of work under those contracts is carried out in the UK.

Answered by: Mr Philip Dunne

The current value of contracts between the Ministry of Defence and Boeing and Boeing Defence UK Ltd is approximately £665.75 million and £2.49 billion respectively. Contracts are also held with the Boeing subsidiaries Aviation Training International Ltd and Jeppesen UK Ltd amounting to £415.91 million and £6.59 million respectively.
The proportion of work by value carried out in the UK is around 53 per cent. This figure is based on direct contracts where the location of work code indicates that work is undertaken in the UK.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publi ... -15/40670/

[GibMariner]

Unmanned Warrior:
Unmanned Warrior exercise planned using cloud-based GIS software: http://www.naval-technology.com/news/ne ... re-4931261

[arfah]

................