2008 Archive

Archived European defence and aerospace procurement news and announcements:

Jan  |  Feb  |  Mar

March

27 Mar 2008 - The RAF is to get a fleet of Airbus in-flight refueling tanker aircraft in a 13 billion pound PFI signed by the MOD and the AirTanker consortium...

26 Mar 2008 - Britain will use an Anglo/French-developed gun to upgrade its fleet of Warrior infantry fighting vehicles. The weapon also will be fitted to FRES scout vehicles...

21 Mar 2008 - Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, will push for closer defence ties with the UK when he meets Gordon Brown, British prime minister, next week...

19 Mar 2008 - Norway's defense industry exported a record $424 million in military systems and equipment in 2007, according to data released by Statistisk Sentralbyra (SSB)...

17 Mar 2008 - Rheinmetall has acquired Dutch armored vehicle company Stork PWV, a move that gives the German armor company control of Artec...

13 Mar 2008 - The House of Commons Defence Committee has launched an inquiry into Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR)...

06 Mar 2008 - French naval company DCNS will actively pursue exports, looking to open offices overseas and sign cooperation agreements...

05 Mar 2008 - Rafale International officially opened an office in Athens as part of efforts to sell the Rafale combat aircraft to Greece's air force...

03 Mar 2008 - Europe’s aerospace industry will be one of the main beneficiaries of EADS’s stunning victory on the US Air Force KC-45A tanker programme...

February

29 Feb 2008 - Northrop Grumman and European partner EADS beat out presumptive favorite Boeing for the US Air Force's $35-40 billion, 179-plane tanker deal, Air Force officials said...

28 Feb 2008 - GKN, the UK engineering group, expects to complete the acquisition of a large part of the Airbus manufacturing site at Filton, near Bristol around the middle of the year...

27 Feb 2008 - Countries who participate in European Security and Defence Policy missions abroad should consider hiring private operators to handle more logistics tasks...

25 Feb 2008 - The Spanish Ministry of Defense has subscribed to a framework collaboration agreement with the firm HISDESAT Servicios Estrategicos S.A...

20 Feb 2008 - The EDA and the EU SatCen today demonstrated how intelligence images from many sources and in multiple formats could in the future be delivered...

20 Feb 2008 - Airbus has won nearly 200 orders for its A400M military transport plane, which will make its long-awaited maiden flight this summer with no further delays, according to the firm's chief...

18 Feb 2008 - General Dynamics UK has begun rolling out enhanced communications and data capabilities for the Bowman tactical communications system...

15 Feb 2008 - An Anglo-South Korean consortium led by BAE Systems has become the first team to declare its interest in the RFA MARS programme...

13 Feb 2008 - The total value of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) deals in the aerospace and defence sectors worldwide remained buoyant during 2007...

13 Feb 2008 - Iceland could have a new National Defence Strategy (NDS) in place after the two coalition government parties reached a preliminary agreement...

11 Feb 2008 - The European Defence Agency (EDA) wants to see Britain more involved in the agency’s activities says EDA’s second chief executive...

11 Feb 2008 - In urgent need of tactical UAVs for its Afghanistan mission, Canada is rushing to lease such aircraft and send them to Kandahar in the next 10 to 14 months....

06 Feb 2008 - A Franco-American consortium has signed a contract to oversee management of a programme to provide the army’s new generation of armoured vehicles...

05 Feb 2008 - The UK government has confirmed it is to sell the rotary wing and components businesses of state-owned DARA to Canadian maintenance company Vector Aerospace...

January

30 Jan 2008 - The British government is in the process of agreeing contracts for the construction of two new aircraft carriers, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday...

29 Jan 2008 - Sweden’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has allocated funding to allow the Swedish naval yard Kockums to begin designing the Royal Swedish Navy’s next-generation submarine...

28 Jan 2008 - The UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee has warned of impending defence cuts and is "deeply concerned" that continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are eroding...

23 Jan 2008 - US DoD spending for 2008 is projected to be the highest it has been since World War II. For 2008, the Army has programmed $23.8 billion...

23 Jan 2008 - The US administration announced export control reforms aimed at facilitating the trade of defence products and sensitive dual-use technologies...

21 Jan 2008 - The companies building two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy have proposed a cost-cutting plan to keep the programme on track...

18 Jan 2008 - Safety concerns have prompted moves to significantly reorganise UK plans to upgrade Royal Air Force (RAF) British Aerospace Nimrod R.1...

10 Jan 2008 - British defence officials are considering delaying the Royal Navy’s 3.9 billion pound programme to build two aircraft carriers for up to 18 months or longer...

10 Jan 2008 - EADS, Europe’s largest aerospace and defence group, is planning to buy a mid-sized US defence company in the course of the year...

03 Jan 2008 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has endorsed a proposal to strengthen European Union policy in defence and security matters, while seeking to renew trans-Atlantic ties...

To find out more about current European defence and aerospace industry news and procurement trends, contact Jeffrey Strategic.