Market News

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 22 Feb. 2012. U.S. Navy aviation officials are asking helicopter designers at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Conn., to overhaul and update two VH-3D and one VH-60N executive helicopters, which are part of the Navy's VIP helicopter fleet used to transport the president and vice president of the United States, as well as other high-ranking dignitaries. Sikorsky will do the helicopter overhaul work under terms of a $20.5 million contract modification awarded Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, 21 Feb. 2012. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) budget for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) would continue its decline next year if Congress approves the DOD's fiscal 2013 request for $69.65 billion for military-related research. Next year's Pentagon RDT&E request is down nearly 14 percent from recent-year peak spending of $80.92 billion in 2010, according to DOD budget documents.

PRODUCT INTELLIGENCE, 21 Feb. 2012.There’s one thing all electronics need, and that’s power. Power supplies and converters are important parts of the system they inhabit, and as such need to meet rigorous standards lest the entire system shut down for want, or excess, of power. Systems integrators who are looking to purchase power supplies and converters need to weigh reliability, weight, power and cost carefully.

NASHUA, N.H., 20 Feb. 2012. Airbus and Cassidian, two key EADS group companies and major players in the airframer and avionics technologies industry that aim to strengthen their authority within the European and global aerospace and avionics market, are participating in Avionics Europe, the premier conference and exhibition dedicated to the commercial and defense avionics industry, held in Munich, Germany, on 21 and 22 March 2012. Under the theme “Common Sky: Operating in One Air Space,” the Avionics Europe 2012 conference will focus on the current and future cockpit avionics and technologies for commercial, civil, and military aircraft and design approaches to grow air traffic in the most safe and efficient ways possible.

WASHINGTON, 20 Feb. 2012. The U.S. Air Force's plan to upgrade the Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy cargo jet with new avionics and new engines is among the top defense systems upgrades and technology-insertion priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) 2013 budget request submitted to Congress last week. The Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy project is part of the $14.44 billion that DOD officials plan to spend for systems upgrades and technology insertion next year, according to DOD budget documents.

TOULOUSE, France, 19 Feb. 2012. Drukair, the flag carrier of the Eastern Himalayan mountain Kingdom of Bhutan, is buying one Airbus A319 aircraft fitted with fuel-saving sharklet wingtips for fuel savings and the performance necessary for routine operations at extremely high altitudes. Drukair operates out of one of the world’s most challenging airports at Paro, Bhutan, which at an elevation of 7,300 feet is more than a mile high.

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 19 Feb. 2012. U.S. Navy aircraft specialists needed several sizes of advanced multi-purpose displays for the avionics systems of the Navy Lot 35 F/A-18F jet fighter-bomber and EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft. They found their solution from the Honeywell Inc. Defense & Space Electronic Systems segment in Albuquerque, N.M.

WASHINGTON, 17 Feb. 2012. Electronic warfare and electro-optics-related countermeasures are shaping up to be among the few real growth areas of the Pentagon's fiscal 2013 budget, which the Obama Administration submitted to Congress this week. Leaders of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) plan to spend $4.95 billion next year for electro-optic and electronic warfare work, which represents growth of 7.6 percent over the $4.6 billion DOD has budgeted for electronic warfare and electro-optics countermeasures this year.

WASHINGTON, 17 Feb. 2012. Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) are planning serious cuts in military lasers and directed-energy weapons work next year, with the Pentagon's proposed spending for lasers and directed-energy weapons of $244.28 million. Although it might seem lime a substantial amount, proposed fiscal 2013 spending is down 33.23 percent from current-year levels of $365.88 million, and down 44.7 percent from 2011 levels of $441.48 million.

WRIGHT PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, 16 Feb. 2012. U.S. Air Force and Navy combat aircraft pilots needed helmet-mounted night vision cueing and display systems for fighter pilots operating high-performance aircraft at night. They found their solution from Vision Systems International LLC in San Jose, Calif. Officials of the U.S. Air Force Air Armament Center (ASC) activity at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, awarded Vision Systems a $19.8 million contract Tuesday for night vision cueing and display standard field night vision devices for the Air Force and Navy.

SINGAPORE, 14 Feb. 2012. Officials from Rockwell Collins and ICBC Leasing in China took part in a ceremony at the 2012 Singapore Airshow whereby ICBC will acquire and use as a baseline a suite of Rockwell Collins communication, navigation, and surveillance avionics for up to 42 new Airbus A320 aircraft, the deliveries of which will begin in the coming months.

WASHINGTON, 14 Feb. 2012. Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) plan to spend at least $5.78 billion to buy and develop unmanned vehicles and unmanned vehicle payloads next year, according to data in the Pentagon's budget documents released this week. This figure is down 13.14 percent from the same levels of spending this year, and is down 16.9 percent from unmanned vehicles procurement and research in 2011.

THE MIL & AERO VIDEO BLOG, 14 Feb. 2012. The Pentagon's proposed 2013 budget may not be the best news for military platforms like new plans, ships, and tanks, but among the brightest opportunities for aerospace and defense electronics suppliers involves military systems upgrades and technology insertion, with several new contracts and solicitations issued recently, reports John Keller this week in the Mil & Aero Video Blog.

DALLAS, 13 Feb. 2012. Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE:TXT), unveiled what is being dubbed the first super-medium helicopter. In a spectacular display that had half the exhibit floor at a stand-still crowded with eagerly awaiting show attendees, the company revealed the Bell 525 Relentless. The Bell 525 R is the result of years of work on a project previously referred to as Magellan.

ARLINGTON, Va., 12 Feb. 2012. Military electro-optics scientists at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., will brief industry on a project to develop fundamentally new avionics and vetronics electro-optic sensors for target identification and tracking from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 23 Feb. 2012 at a corporate site in Arlington, Va. The DARPA industry-day briefings are for the Military Imaging and Surveillance Technology - Long Range (MIST-LR) program (DARPA-BAA-12-22).

NASHUA, N.H., 9 Feb. 2012. Avionics Europe, the premier avionics conference and exhibition tackling issues and challenges of import to civil and defense avionics professionals, is complementing its conference program with informative workshops and forums. Avionics Europe is being held March 21-22, 2012 in Munich, Germany.
Leading industry organizations—including the Association of European Airlines, SESAR Joint Undertaking, EUROCAE, the German Aerospace Society, and the Royal Aeronautical Society—will host a series of special forums, focusing on important issues facing and impacting the work and business of avionics professionals and the industry at large.

FAIRMONT, W.Va., 9 Feb. 2012. Galaxy Global Corp. of Fairmont, W. Va., won from NASA officials a contract to provide support to the NASA Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Software Assurance Tools (SWAT) Group at the NASA IV&V Facility in Fairmont, W.Va. Galaxy Global staff are contracted to provide management, continuous improvement, expert training, and engineering services for the Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools employed in the NASA IV&V Program.

NEW YORK, 8 Feb. 2012. Global aerospace and defense merger and acquisition value reached a record level in 2011--$43.7 billion in 341 deals--according to PwC U.S analysts in “Mission Control,” its quarterly analysis of activity in the global mil/aero sector. The 2011 figure surpasses the total deal value of $21.9 billion and 332 deals in 2010, as well as the previous record of $42 billion in 2007.

OTTAWA, Ontario, 8 Feb. 2012. Plaintree Systems Inc. (CNSX:NPT) has acquired the business and assets of Summit Tool Corp. of Pocono Summit, Pa. Officials at Summit Aerospace USA Inc., Plaintree’s U.S. subsidiary, will operate the business, which is expected to help position the aerospace division in the high-value engine component sector.