Posted: September 12, 2012 | Author: walesairforum | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing, Welsh Aviation News | Tags: Aerospace Wales Forum, Airbus, BAE, BAE Systems, Broughton, Cassidian, EADS, Engineering, Flintshire, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Newport, Usk |
A potential merger between the owner of one of Wales’ biggest employers and UK defence contractor BAE Systems has been hailed as “great news for Wales”.
Talks are ongoing between BAE Systems and EADS, which owns Airbus, and employs 6,500 people at its Broughton factory in Flintshire, where wings for the A380 Superjumbo are made.
It also owns defence company Cassidian in Newport, which employs 1,000 people.
The Aerospace Wales Forum welcomed the move for Wales and the UK.
BBC Wales economic correspondent Sarah Dickins, said: “In terms of Wales, EADS have 6,500 at Airbus, and they have about 1,000 people at Cassidian.
“At both of these, order books are not just doing well, they are positively bulging.”
‘One group’
She said she had spoken to the Aerospace Wales Forum, where a spokesman said: “This is great news for the UK if this merger happens, and this is great news for Wales.”
BAE said in a statement that “both companies would operate as one group by means of equalisation and other agreements but would be separately listed on their existing exchanges”.
In a potential tie-up, BAE would own 40% and EADS 60% of the new firm.
Speculation that talks were ongoing sent BAE shares up 8% on Wednesday, while shares in EADS dropped 5.6%.
BAE and EADS said that a merger “offers the prospect of significant benefits for customers and shareholders of both companies”.
‘Discussions’
Under the code of the UK’s Takeover Panel, the two parties must announce a decision on the outcome of their talks by 17:00 BST on 10 October.
“BAE Systems confirms its intention to request an extension to the deadline from the panel if it and EADS are still in discussions at that time,” it said.
BAE usually pays shareholders a higher proportion of its earnings as a dividend than EADS.
As a result, if the merger were to go ahead, EADS would pay £200m to its shareholders before completion.
BAE and EADS’s normal dividend for the current year would be unaffected.
Sourced by BBC News Wales
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Posted: June 19, 2012 | Author: sedgie47 | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing, UK Aviation News | Tags: BAE, BAE Systems, BALPA, British Airline Pilots Association, Engineering, Jetstream 31, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Research, Unmanned Aircraft |
About 20 test flights of the BAE Systems Jetstream aircraft will be conducted over the summer.
Test flights have begun to see whether unmanned aircraft could someday be of widespread use in British airspace.
The BAE Systems Jetstream, which will be manned during the test phase, could potentially conduct search missions and investigate weather systems.
BAE believes the aircraft is the first of its kind to autonomously “sense and avoid” bad weather and mid-air hazards.
The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said “issues” must be resolved to ensure all airspace users are safe.
Unmanned planes or “drones” are already used in the UK for surveillance work.
Electronic eye
During up to 20 test flights over the Irish Sea, a pilot and co-pilot will be responsible for the Jetstream’s take-offs and landings.
Also aboard will be three people observing and testing the technology – however, the aircraft will fly as if it were an Uninhabited Air Vehicle (UAV).
The new technology – which is far more advanced than a standard passenger aircraft – has been developed by Astraea, a £60m UK industry-led programme which has been running for about six years.
Astraea are funded in part by the Technology Strategy Board, which is sponsored by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
BAE says the Astraea system can detect and avoid bad weather systems using an “electronic eye” – a cockpit camera linked to the aircraft’s internal computer systems.
The system can recognise cloud types and autonomously plot a course to avoid bad weather.
The electronic eye is also used in conjunction with an aircraft identification antenna to “sense and avoid” mid-air collisions.
Infra-red technology on the underside of the aircraft should also help the Jetstream find a safe place to land in the event of an emergency.
Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, BAE’s engineering director with responsibility for the Astraea programme, said: “The [aircraft] has been configured as a ‘surrogate UAV’, where the onboard pilots can take their hands off the controls and hand over control to the on-board system developed by the Astraea team.
A bank of computers inside the UAV monitor what it “sees” and reacts to any hazards
“Racks of computers and control systems in the rear of the aircraft mean it can fly as if it were [unmanned] without any input from the pilots.
“The weather avoidance system will use sophisticated image processing techniques to detect and avoid clouds and is just one of the new capabilities being tested.”
‘Eyes and ears’
If trials are successful, BAE has said the aircraft could become the first “surrogate” UAV to fly in “normal” UK shared civilian airspace.
The testing has been cautiously welcomed by Balpa, who say they are not entirely opposed to the development of unmanned flight technology.
Capt Mark Searle, Balpa chairman, said: “The most important safety system that we currently have on board aircraft is the eyes and ears of well-trained pilots.
“Such technology… could offer benefits for manned aircraft operations as well, but there are issues which must be resolved first in order to ensure safety for all airspace users.”
Mr Searle added that the biggest hurdle to the use of any unmanned aircraft is the public perception of them.
“The public like to be assured when flying that there are capable, professional, well-trained pilots in command. We can not see this changing any time soon.”
Opponents of the growing use of drones are concerned the public are not being consulted on the rapidly advancing technology and the potential changes on the use of UK airspace.
Chris Cole, from the Drone Wars UK website, which follows the use of armed drones, told the BBC: “There is no parliamentary or public consultation in the UK on this and I believe there is a huge amount of public scepticism.
“The defence industry is part of the Astraea project. They are working with defence companies to see what changes need to be made to airspace regulation to ensure these drones fly safety in the UK.
“There is a big difference between remotely controlled surveillance drones and autonomous drone flights. This is a huge step forward and it is happening too quickly.”
BAE’s Simon Shrouder estimates that pilotless aircraft could be used within three to five years to investigate weather systems or natural disasters, such as volcanic ash clouds.
He added: “UAV flights could soon be used to do the dull, dirty or dangerous work, that will not put pilot’s lives at risk.”
Mr Shrouder added however, that pilotless passenger flights are still far from becoming reality.
“In years to come, it might be that confidence is so great that there is scope for passengers to be carried on these flights – but that is many, many years off.”
Sourced from BBC News
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Posted: February 1, 2012 | Author: sedgie47 | Filed under: Aircraft Engineering/Manufacturing, Military News | Tags: BAE, BAE Systems, British Aerospace, Dassault Falcon, Eurofighter Typhoon, Fast Jets, Indian Airforce, Military, Rafale |
The Indian Airforce is said to have opted for French Dassault Rafale jets
French company Dassault Aviation is expected to be selected to build more than 120 Rafale jets for the Indian air force in a deal worth £7bn.
The French firm has been selected as the preferred bidder after putting in a lower bid than the cost of 126 BAE Eurofighter Typhoons.
Sources at BAE say it is “far from a done deal” and that no contract has yet been awarded to Dassault.
A company spokesman said: “BAE Systems notes that Eurofighter Typhoon has not been assessed as the lowest-priced compliant bidder by the Indian ministry of defence at this stage of the tendering process for supply of its new medium multi-role combat aircraft.
“We believe Eurofighter Typhoon offers the best military, industrial and economic solution for India.”
The decision is obviously disappointing but it is about who the Indians have assessed as making the lowest bid and therefore asked to enter into further negotiations.
David Cameron at PMQs
The announcement is despite Prime Minister David Cameron attempting to establish Britain as India’s “partner of choice” during a high-profile visit in 2010.
It is also a blow to the thousands of BAE staff who work on the Typhoons.
Last year, the firm announced plans to shed 3,000 staff at Brough, Samlesbury and Warton, partly as a result of falling export orders for the Typhoon planes.
This latest news could put even more jobs at risk.
The Unite union has warned that the selection of a French fighter aircraft for the multi-billion pound contract could have a major impact on the UK.
National officer Ian Waddell said: “The Typhoon is a superb aircraft which supports thousands of highly skilled jobs in the UK, both at BAE Systems and in the supply chain.
“We are concerned about the serious implications this decision may have and want urgent talks with the company about future plans for the workforce.”
BAE’s Eurofighter Typhoon jets were more expensive than the French jets
At PMQs, Mr Cameron insisted the Typhoons were “far better than Rafale” and pledged to do “everything I can” to persuade the Indians to choose the British aircraft.
“The decision is obviously disappointing but it is about who the Indians have assessed as making the lowest bid and therefore asked to enter into further negotiations,” he said.
He added: “They have not yet awarded the contract. We do not expect any job losses stemming from this decision and it does not rule out Typhoon for India.”
The industry’s umbrella body, the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, is meeting the Ministry of Defence’s procurement minister Peter Luff next week and is expected to raise the issue as a priority.
Sourced from Sky News
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