2008 Q4 FReepathon. Target: $80,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $25,709
32%  
Woo hoo!! The first 32% is in!! Thank you all very much!!

Keyword: bae

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • BAE to develop unmanned aircraft with British Defense Ministry (Mantis w/ Brimstone missiles)

    07/22/2008 4:45:50 PM PDT · by Libloather · 8 replies · 30+ views
    BAE to develop unmanned aircraft with British Defense Ministry14 Jul, 2008, 2127 hrs IST, AGENCIES FARNBOROUGH: BAE Systems PLC said on Monday it will develop an unmanned aircraft that can drop laser-guided bombs and fire missiles in a program jointly funded by Britain's Ministry of Defense. BAE announced the plans for the propeller-powered vehicle, known as Mantis, at the Farnborough International Airshow, outside London, and displayed a full-size model on the tarmac. The deal with the Defense Ministry, which covers the first phase of development and flight testing only, is designed to demonstrate the potential of a large unmanned aircraft...
  • World's Priciest Stealth Plane Takes First Run to Vertical Landing

    06/11/2008 8:39:21 PM PDT · by Dawnsblood · 13 replies · 4+ views
    Popular Mechanics ^ | 6/11/08 | Joe Pappalardo
    The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone today when the most expensive plane on Earth—a modded version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a helicopter—made its first flight. Its pilot certainly had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes when Jimmy Carter was president. Retired Royal Air Force squadron leader Graham Tomlinson, now employed by BAE Flight Systems, flew AV-8 Harriers (the first STOVL warplanes to see action) for 28 years, including time in the late 1980s as a test pilot qualifying the FA-2 Sea...
  • Top Army general praises new cannon in Minnesota

    05/24/2008 4:38:11 AM PDT · by decimon · 61 replies · 8+ views
    Associated Press ^ | May 24, 2008 | Unknown
    MINNEAPOLIS — The Army's top general said he saw the future when looking at a new artillery vehicle that can hit a target over the horizon while remaining lighter, faster and more fuel efficient than the vehicle it will replace. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army's chief of staff, examined the so-called non-line-of-sight cannon with Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., at Minnesota defense contractor BAE Systems on Friday during a visit Casey said was meant to "check on our future." The cannon, a two-man combat vehicle with an automated ammunition system that can fire 155 mm projectiles with greater precision...
  • US gov may forbid BAE Eurofighter sale to Saudis(Britain)

    04/19/2008 4:17:06 AM PDT · by MARKUSPRIME · 16 replies · 10+ views
    Clearly, the Justice department believes there is reasonable cause to think US law has been violated by the Bandar payments. Since the money actually came from a British government account, it could be argued that the UK state - rather than BAE as such - was the actor, and thus should be denied the export permit it is asking for.It appears that the British government's application to export American tech on 72 Eurofighters to the desert princes is the subject of some debate both among Capitol Hill politicos and at the Departments of State and Justice.Now the US State Department...
  • Can Five Air Forces All Be Wrong?

    03/31/2008 7:01:46 AM PDT · by K-oneTexas · 27 replies · 1,083+ views
    HumanEvents.com ^ | 03/31/08 | Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney
    Can Five Air Forces All Be Wrong? by Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney Jed Babbin announced recently that he is opposing the USAF's decision to buy the KC-45A air refueling tanker from Northrop Grumman and its European partner, EADS. He bases this on two main points: "First, the warfighters need a tanker that isn't so big and heavy that is unable to deploy on many of the world's airfields; and second, the Air Force is taking an unreasonably high risk on the NG-EADS aircraft." Jed who is a respected friend and colleague has been gracious in allowing me to respond in...
  • US Marines order more MRAPs

    03/22/2008 2:30:55 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 29 replies · 498+ views
    The Engineer Online ^ | 20 March 2008
    The US Marine Corps has placed two follow-on delivery orders worth a total of $715m with BAE Systems for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Under the new contracts, BAE Systems will build and deliver 1,024 Caiman-based Category I vehicles and 447 RG33 Category I and II vehicles (bringing the total to 3,150 Category 1 and 1,927 Category II vehicles respectively). BAE Systems anticipates that the Caiman award, worth $481.8m, will include spares and increased contractor logistic support. The RG33 order, worth $234m, involves the production of three special forces command vehicles, 51 ambulance variants and 393 RG33 Category II...
  • Russians Suspected in Shooting of Kremlin Critic Near D.C., et al.

    02/24/2008 3:47:00 PM PST · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 18 replies · 69+ views
    Canada Free Press ^ | February 24, 2008 | Newsmax
    <p>1. Russians Suspected in Shooting of Kremlin Critic Near D.C.</p> <p>One year ago, Kremlin critic Paul Joyal was gunned down in the driveway of his suburban Maryland home. The case remains unsolved — but some see the hand of Russia in the shooting.</p>
  • Bribes inquiry was warned of ‘another 7/7’, court told(Saudi response to BAE probe)

    02/15/2008 2:32:10 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 8 replies · 29+ views
    Times of London ^ | 02/15/08 | Christine Buckley, and Fiona Hamilton
    February 15, 2008 Bribes inquiry was warned of ‘another 7/7’, court told Christine Buckley, Industrial Correspondent, and Fiona Hamilton Fraud investigators were told they faced the possibility of “another 7/7” and the likely loss of “British lives on British streets” if they pressed on with inquiries into Saudi Arabia’s arms deals, it was revealed yesterday. High Court documents showed that the Saudis threatened to cut off intelligence, potentially making it easier for terrorists to attack London, if the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) did not drop its investigation into alleged corruption in deals with BAE systems. After threats by the Saudis...
  • Saudi royal Prince Bandar Bin Sultan's assets frozen (BAE bribery fallout)

    02/10/2008 12:45:26 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 8 replies · 55+ views
    Sunday Times ^ | 02/10/08 | Grant Ringshaw
    February 10, 2008 Saudi royal Prince Bandar Bin Sultan's assets frozen Grant Ringshaw PRINCE Bandar Bin Sultan, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to America, has been hit by a court order in effect freezing some of his US assets, as part of a class-action lawsuit over bribery allegations at British defence giant BAE Systems. A Michigan pension scheme ? the City of Harper Woods Employees’ Retirement System ? has been granted a restraining order, according to documents filed in the US district of Columbia and seen by The Sunday Times. The order, granted last Tuesday, blocks Bandar from transferring out...
  • Israel's RAFAEL signs $25m deal with US Navy

    11/20/2007 10:57:50 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 10 replies · 24+ views
    Ynetnews,Israel ^ | 11.20.07 | Naama Sikuler
    RAFAEL signs $25m deal with US Navy Armament Development Authority, BAE Systems land joint contract to supply US navy with advanced naval weapons systems. Contract second of its kind, to be completed by end of 2009 Naama Sikuler Published: 11.20.07 Israel's RAFAEL Armament Development Authority and US based BAE Systems announced Tuesday they were awarded a joint, $36 million weapons contract by the US Navy. The two will supply the US Navy with 62 Typhoon naval weapons systems by the end of 2009. The Typhoons are a range of remotely operated naval stabilized weapon systems, designed to combat ocean-based terror....
  • World’s Most Powerful Rail Gun Delivered to Navy

    11/15/2007 2:50:37 PM PST · by BGHater · 145 replies · 47+ views
    Popular Mechanics ^ | 14 Nov 2007 | Erik Sofge
    For true sci-fi fans, any mention of a real-world rail gun will draw an instant, slightly audible gasp. Instead of relying on chemical propellants—such as gunpowder—a rail gun uses magnetic “rails” to launch a solid, nonexplosive projectile at incredible speed. Theoretically, rail guns would be able to precisely strike targets at extreme ranges, and would negate the risks associated with carrying around tons of explosive ammo. More to the point, they’re cool-sounding, just like lasers. Which is why the news that BAE Systems has delivered a functional, 32-megajoule Electro-Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun (32-MJ LRG) to the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare...
  • Saudi King Abdullah on the hot seat

    10/31/2007 9:03:41 AM PDT · by Wuli · 1 replies · 7+ views
    Political Mavens ^ | 10/30/2007 | Judith A. Klinghoffer
    And that is the wonderful part of it. Saudis are beginning to be held accountable. The Saudi King’s visit was carefully managed. Aware that the best defense is an offense, he charged the British government with ignoring his warnings prior to 7/7. I am sure he was right. Londonistan is barely even Londonistan-even now. Responding to the charges of British bribery of high placed Saudis including the Yamanis, a Saudi officials argued that the fault was with the bribers not those bribed. At issues is the 43-billion-pound arms deal with Saudi Arabia which the British Fraud Office investigated until Blair.........
  • Israel used electronic attack in air strike against Syrian mystery target

    10/07/2007 11:53:36 PM PDT · by jdm · 74 replies · 2,119+ views
    Aviation Week ^ | October 08, 2007 | By David A. Fulghum and Douglas Barrie
    Mysteries still surround Israel’s air strike against Syria. Where was the attack, what was struck and how did Israel’s non-stealthy warplanes fly undetected through the Russian-made air defense radars in Syria? There also are clues that while the U.S. and Israel are struggling in the broader information war with Islamic fundamentalists, Tel Aviv’s air attack against a “construction site” in northern Syria may mean the two countries are beginning to win some cyberwar battles. U.S. officials say that close examination of the few details of the mission offers a glimpse of what’s new in the world of sophisticated electronic sleight-of-hand....
  • BAE wins Army night goggles contract

    08/31/2007 12:35:45 PM PDT · by nypokerface · 12 replies · 384+ views
    UPI ^ | 08/31/07
    LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- BAE Systems said this week it has won a contract to design and develop new night-vision goggles for the U.S. Army. The company said it won the contract to create new digitally enhanced night-vision goggle for the U.S. Army’s Enhanced Night Vision Goggle program. "This next-generation goggle will use digital imagery to improve soldier mobility and situational awareness under all lighting conditions and in the presence of battlefield obscurants," BAE Systems said in a statement Monday. "The helmet-mounted goggle will digitally combine video imagery from a low-light-level visible sensor and an uncooled long-wave infrared...
  • BAE shares fall as US Department of Justice launches probe

    06/26/2007 1:56:07 PM PDT · by Freeport · 4 replies · 245+ views
    www.flightglobal.com ^ | 26/06/07 | Helen Massy-Beresford
    BAE Systems shares fell on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday after the company announced that the US Department of Justice is to investigate its compliance with anti-corruption laws. BAE says the formal investigation will cover the company's business "concerning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The company's shares plunged nearly 50 pence to trade below 400p on the London Stock Exchange after the investigation was announced. The US market accounts for nearly half of its revenues and BAE says it was the fourth largest defence contractor in the USA, behind Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing by 2006 sales. Earlier...
  • US launches BAE corruption probe

    06/26/2007 7:01:16 AM PDT · by BGHater · 14 replies · 287+ views
    Telegraph ^ | 26 June 2007 | Ben Bland
    The US Department of Justice has launched a formal investigation into allegations that BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence firm, paid hundreds of millions of pounds in bribes to a Saudi prince. The allegations of illegal payments by BAE relate to the £43bn Al Yamamah deal, under which Saudi Arabia was sold Tornado jets and a range of other military equipment and services. News of the US probe sent BAE shares tumbling by 9pc in early trading. The BBC and The Guardian newspapers claimed earlier this month that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador in Washington, received up to...
  • Saudi scandal takes off again over prince's birthday plane(BAE kickbacks to Prince Bandar)

    06/16/2007 12:05:09 AM PDT · by TigerLikesRooster · 2 replies · 372+ views
    Saudi scandal takes off again over prince's birthday plane By Agence France Presse (AFP) Saturday, June 16, 2007 LONDON: British defense giant BAE bought Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan an Airbus plane under a multi-billion pound arms deal and is still paying the costs of flying it, The Guardian newspaper said Friday. The latest allegation met with renewed denials of wrongdoing from BAE, which said it does not pay or receive bribes or "offer other improper inducements," although a spokesman declined to comment on the specific plane charge. The newspaper last week alleged that BAE transferred secret payments totaling more...
  • Saudis hold back on signing Eurofighter deal until Brown becomes PM

    04/06/2007 5:43:53 AM PDT · by sukhoi-30mki · 3 replies · 365+ views
    The Times,UK ^ | April 5, 2007 | David Robertson
    April 5, 2007 Saudis hold back on signing BAE deal until Brown in No 10 David Robertson, Business Correspondent Saudi Arabia will wait for Gordon Brown to become Prime Minister before signing a £20 billion deal to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets from BAE Systems, The Times has learnt. Negotiations for the sale of 72 fighter jets are believed to be progressing well but the Saudis want the deal endorsed by Britain’s next Prime Minister. The contract between the two governments is expected to be signed in late June or early July once a new leader is chosen by the Labour...
  • Blair did secret deal with Saudis

    03/22/2007 1:07:03 AM PDT · by FLOutdoorsman · 6 replies · 319+ views
    The Sunday Times ^ | 19 March 2007 | David Leppard
    BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair struck a secret deal with the king of Saudi Arabia, assuring him there would be no criminal charges against anyone implicated in bribery in Britain's biggest arms deal. In July 2005, Mr Blair assured the then crown prince, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who is now the Saudi King, that Britain would abandon an inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office into alleged massive corruption. It concerned a ?60 million ($146 million) "slush fund" allegedly set up by BAE Systems, Britain's biggest military contractor, to support the lifestyle of some members of the Saudi royal family. Mr...
  • Protecting ties with Saudis trumped BAE bribery probe, Blair says[UK]

    01/18/2007 8:01:00 PM PST · by FLOutdoorsman · 13 replies · 414+ views
    AP ^ | 17 Jan 2007 | Associated Press
    LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday that Britain needed Saudi Arabia's help in fighting terrorism, and that ending a probe of Saudi arms deals with BAE Systems PLC was the right decision. Mr. Blair has come under criticism for calling off the Serious Fraud Office's probe of allegations that BAE made unauthorized payments to members of the Saudi royal family to secure a contract in the 1980s. In Paris, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's anti-bribery panel said yesterday that it has asked Britain to explain its reasons for halting an investigation into Saudi arms deals. The...
  • BAE shareholders approve sale of 20-percent stake in Airbus

    10/04/2006 6:49:24 AM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 5 replies · 274+ views
    AFP ^ | Oct. 4, 2006
    LONDON (AFP) - BAE Systems has announced that shareholders have backed the proposed sale of its 20-percent holding in troubled European aircraft maker Airbus to Paris-based peer EADS. The sale, totalling about 2.75 bilion euros (3.5 billion dollars), was announced Wednesday and is expected to complete no later than October 14. The disposal will hand Franco-German EADS outright ownership of Airbus, whose flagship A380 superjumbo was hit Tuesday by fresh delays. "At an extraordinary general meeting held earlier today, the shareholders of BAE Systems passed a resolution approving the disposal of BAE Systems' entire interest in Airbus," BAE said in...
  • BAE agrees to £1.87bn Airbus sale

    09/06/2006 1:02:14 PM PDT · by alnitak · 6 replies · 331+ views
    The BBC ^ | Wednesday, 6 September 2006, 19:51 GMT 20:51 UK | Anonymous BBC story monkey
    UK-based defence firm BAE Systems has agreed to sell its 20% stake in plane maker Airbus to EADS for 2.75bn euros (£1.87bn; $3.53bn). BAE estimates the sale will generate about £1.2bn net, allowing it to return about £500m to shareholders. If shareholders agree to the deal, pan-European EADS, which owns 80% of Airbus, will own the firm outright. The 13,000 Airbus workers in the UK - where the planes' wings are built - are not thought to be affected by the deal. "The board believes that Airbus is facing a challenging short to medium-term outlook," BAE said. The firm can...
  • BAE Denies Imminent Airbus Sale

    09/03/2006 2:32:37 PM PDT · by blam · 7 replies · 407+ views
    BBC ^ | 9-3-2006
    BAE denies imminent Airbus sale Airbus has been hit by delays to its new A380 super-jumbo Defence and aerospace group BAE Systems has described a report that it is to sell its 20% stake in Airbus later this week as "premature". BAE first announced in April that it was thinking of withdrawing from the pan-European aircraft-maker. The buyer of its share is expected to be EADS, the Franco-German group which owns the remaining 80% stake in Airbus. UK-based BAE said it could not make any decision on the sale until it had completed its own audit of Airbus. Its comments...
  • Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighters

    08/18/2006 2:21:05 AM PDT · by Jordi · 21 replies · 1,117+ views
    BBC ^ | 18 August 2006 | BBC
    The Eurofighter has taken more than 20 years to design and build Saudi Arabia has confirmed it is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from the UK, in a deal that could be worth more than £6bn ($10bn). The contract, brokered between the Saudi government and the Ministry of Defence, will safeguard thousands of jobs at UK defence firm BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is buying the Eurofighters to replace its range of Tornado jets which were also made by BAE. The Eurofighter was developed by BAE with European firms EADS and Alenia. Confidential figure "The required commercial principles have now...
  • Indian Navy eyes 100 aircraft by 2020

    07/18/2006 12:40:28 PM PDT · by sukhoi-30mki · 17 replies · 766+ views
    India Abroad News Service ^ | Tuesday, July 18, 2006
    Indian Navy eyes 100 aircraft by 2020 IANS Tuesday, July 18, 2006 08:08 IST NEW DELHI:After the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Indian Navy is looking at acquiring close to 100 aircraft in a mix of fighters, patrol planes and trainers by 2020. On the shopping list are 40 to 50 MiG-29K fighters, 30 long-range maritime patrol (LRMP) aircraft and 10-15 Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs), navy chief Admiral Arun Praksh told India Strategic magazine in an interview. According to him, as the IAF was acquiring the Hawk trainers, it was logical for the navy to go in for either...
  • Back to the drawing board (Airbus Woes, Long but Interesting)

    07/09/2006 3:29:16 AM PDT · by lowbuck · 2 replies · 553+ views
    The Business Online ^ | 9 July 2006 | Ross Tieman
    EXECUTIVES of Europe’s aircraft manufacturer Airbus were engaged this weekend in another crisis. They had hoped to unveil the design of their new A370 aircraft this week on the eve of the Farnborough Air Show. The “launch” of the new plane, which is even more critical to the company’s future than its troubled A380 super-jumbo, had been pencilled in for 14 July until British partner BAE Systems announced it was triggering a full audit of the Toulouse-based European planemaker. On Friday, the launch of the mid-sized jet was suddenly suspended to allow new chairman Christian Streiff to “review” the troubled...
  • BAE ready to sue over Airbus (Airwars sideshow)

    06/25/2006 2:47:03 AM PDT · by lowbuck · 7 replies · 530+ views
    Telegraph Onli ^ | 25 June 2006 | Richard Northedge
    BAE systems is preparing to take legal action if a valuation for its 20 per cent stake in Airbus, the troubled Franco-German aircraft maker jointly owned by BAE and Eads, fails to live up to expectations. The British defence group fears the valuation by N M Rothschild, due by next week, could cut its proceeds on the sale by as much as €1bn (£690m) according to City estimates. BAE has exercised a put option to sell its Airbus stake, but before the deal was completed the plane maker announced delays on its flagship A380 aircraft that will seriously hit earnings....
  • RAF Nimrods may become bomber force

    06/08/2006 5:32:33 AM PDT · by Paleo Conservative · 45 replies · 1,250+ views
    Times Online (The Sunday Time) ^ | June 12, 2005 | Peter Almond
    THE RAF is drawing up plans to convert a fleet of 25-year-old patrol planes into Britain’s first long-range heavy bomber force since the Falklands war. The plan is being seen as Britain’s answer to America’s B-52 bomber, still in regular use more than 50 years after it first flew. The upgraded Nimrod reconnaissance planes, developed from 1950s Comet airliners, would be able to fly non-stop from Britain to hit targets in countries such as Iraq with cruise missiles or precision-guided bombs. The RAF’s current bombers, mainly Tornados, have a far shorter range and, as in the Iraq war in 2003,...
  • BAE moves to force Airbus sale

    06/07/2006 9:00:31 PM PDT · by Paleo Conservative · 22 replies · 512+ views
    BBC ^ | Staff
    BAE Systems has said it will exercise its put option in order to sell its 20% stake in aeroplane firm Airbus. The move comes after BAE and EADS, which owns 80% of Airbus, failed to reach agreement on the price. This means that investment banks for the two firms will have two weeks to negotiate the deal. If they fail, an independent bank will set the price. The Airbus stake is worth £3bn-£4.5bn ($5.3bn-$8.4bn), analysts have said. A "put" option gives a party the right to sell something to a second party, often within a certain period of time. In...
  • BAE Confirms Talks to Sell Airbus Stake

    04/07/2006 12:38:17 PM PDT · by Scarpetta · 10 replies · 378+ views
    Yahoo! News ^ | April 7, 2006 | JANE WARDELL
    LONDON - British defense and aerospace group BAE Systems PLC confirmed Friday that it is in discussions to sell its 20 percent stake in aircraft maker Airbus. BAE is negotiating with Franco-German group European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., which owns the remaining 80 percent of Airbus, about the sale. EADS recently valued BAE's stake in the aircraft maker at 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion). "We believe that now is the right time for us to divest our Airbus shareholding to allow us to concentrate on our core trans-Atlantic defense and aerospace strategy," BAE Chief Executive Mike Turner said in...
  • Future Unclear for Plan to Arm Planes

    11/13/2005 2:56:57 PM PST · by Paleo Conservative · 20 replies · 684+ views
    Two companies working for the government say they have successfully tested systems to defend passenger airplanes against shoulder-fired missiles. BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman both say they will meet the government's deadline of producing a workable system by January. It is unclear whether Congress or the Bush administration will require airlines to use the technology and, if they do, who will pay the multibillion-dollar tab for deployment and maintenance. AP Photo/Rex C. Curry A poster shows how BAE System's JETEYE, a missile defense system, would work on a commercial airliner as Burt Keirstead, background standing, program director, describes the system...
  • Airbus shareholders approve launch of A350 without state aid

    10/06/2005 9:30:24 AM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 7 replies · 355+ views
    AFP ^ | Oct. 6, 2005
    PARIS (AFP) - Shareholders in European aircraft maker Airbus approved the launch of the A350, a mid-sized carrier to compete with Boeing's planned 787 Dreamliner, and said Airbus would temporarily forgo controversial government assistance to finance development costs. EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which owns 80 percent of Airbus, said it had backed development of the A350, a decision also taken by minority British shareholder, BAE Systems. In a significant move in an on-going trade dispute between the European Union and United States, EADS said Airbus would not take immediate advantage of offers of government loans from...
  • French threat to BAE’s £40bn Euro fighter deal.

    10/03/2005 10:31:35 AM PDT · by lowbuck · 1 replies · 351+ views
    The Business Online ^ | October 2, 2005 | Tracey Boles
    FRANCE is seeking to usurp Britain as favourite to win air defence contracts with Saudi Arabia worth up to £40bn (€59bn, $72bn) to British defence contractor, BAE Systems. President Jacques Chirac has had face to face meetings with King Abdullah and was the first foreign dignitary to visit the desert kingdom after the funeral of King Fahd in August, The Business has learned. Saudi Arabia is looking to upgrade some of its ageing 96 Tornados, supplied by BAE Systems, but also to buy new fighter jets in a bid to bolster its air power. The UK is offering the Eurofighter...
  • Revealed: BAE's secret £1m to Pinochet

    09/14/2005 7:11:49 PM PDT · by HAL9000 · 8 replies · 290+ views
    The Guardian (Excerpt) ^ | September 15, 2005 | David Leigh and Rob Evans
    Excerpt - Britain's biggest arms firm, BAE Systems, has been identified on US banking records as secretly paying more than £1m to General Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator. A Guardian investigation has revealed some of the money was listed as being paid through a front company in the British Virgin Islands, which BAE has used to channel commission on arms deals. Covert payments to Pinochet-linked groups are listed on documents compiled by the Chilean authorities and obtained by the Guardian. They record large payments from BAE as recently as last year.
  • Raytheon Focuses Radar Expertise on Ground Targets in Motion

    07/23/2005 3:45:09 PM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 8 replies · 521+ views
    Yahoo Business News ^ | July 21, 2005
    EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 21, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Seeking more protection for ground forces without enhancing risk to aviators, the U.S. Air Force has engaged Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN - News), a leader in radar and data exploitation technology, to devise a way for aircraft, from a safe distance, to detect, track and target hostile forces in motion on the ground. "The U.S. owns the airspace but today's conflicts quickly move to the ground," Nick Uros, vice president for Raytheon's Advanced Concepts and Technology group, said. "We want to keep the war fighter in the air and on the ground...
  • Midsize Airbus plan stalls (A350)

    06/08/2005 10:29:34 PM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 34 replies · 901+ views
    International Herald Tribune ^ | June 9, 2005 | Mark Landler
    FRANKFURT Airbus was hoping to throw a lavish party next week on its home turf in France. But it may have to keep the balloons and bunting under wraps. At the Paris Air Show, which begins Monday, Airbus had sought to formally announce its new midsize plane, the A350, as well as a new management team. It also plans to show off its superjumbo, the A380. On Wednesday, the controlling shareholder of Airbus - European Aeronautic Defense & Space, or EADS - disclosed that it would not sign off on the A350 until the end of September. It made the...
  • EU offers US aid cut to end aircraft row

    05/30/2005 9:44:45 AM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 5 replies · 446+ views
    Reuters ^ | May 30, 2005 | John Chalmers
    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has offered to cut by 30 percent loans likely to be provided for Airbus's new A350 airliner in a bid to avert a huge legal battle with the United States, which is defending its aviation giant, Boeing. An EU official said on Monday the bloc's trade chief, Peter Mandelson, had also offered to discuss the terms of any "launch investment" loans made by European governments to satisfy Washington of their commercial basis. Mandelson's move is aimed at rescuing negotiations on how to eliminate subsidies enjoyed by the aircraft manufacturing rivals -- which collapsed amid...
  • U.S. Ready To Return Airbus Case to World Trade Organization

    05/26/2005 4:26:08 PM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 3 replies · 322+ views
    The United States has warned that it is going to proceed “promptly” with a World Trade Organization (WTO) subsidy case against the European Union (EU) unless the Europeans change their position on aid for the development of new Airbus aircraft. Testifying May 25 before a House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said that a negotiated agreement on ending so-called launch aid and other trade-distorting aircraft subsidies would be preferable to litigation. But he added that the Bush administration is “fully prepared” to move forward with the 2004 WTO case and believes it has...
  • BAE backs US over Chinese arms ban

    04/04/2005 1:25:00 AM PDT · by Righty_McRight · 2 replies · 458+ views
    Evening Standard ^ | April 4, 2005 | Tom McGhie
    BRITAIN'S biggest defence company, BAE Systems, is siding with the Americans rather than its own government by refusing to export arms to China. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has called for the lifting of the arms embargo imposed after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. But BAE, fearful that the Americans would retaliate by banning exports of vital hightechnology components to Europe, has failed to back him. The company, majority owned by US shareholders and rapidly building up its interests across the Atlantic, is America's sixth-biggest defence company. BAE said: 'Our interests are their [the Americans] interests.' A spokesman added...
  • BAE takes Sultan of Brunei to court (over warship order)

    04/04/2005 12:01:53 AM PDT · by sukhoi-30mki · 12 replies · 950+ views
    Daily Telegraph ^ | Filed: 03/04/2005 | Sylvia Pfeifer
    BAE takes Sultan to court over £600m order for warships By Sylvia Pfeifer (Filed: 03/04/2005) BAE Systems, Britain's largest defence contractor, is taking the Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's richest men, to court over a $1bn dispute involving an order for three naval ships. The dispute centres on a lucrative export order, estimated to be worth over £600m ($1.13bn), to build three offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Brunei armed forces. The contract was agreed several years ago and BAE, headed by Mike Turner, the chief executive, launched the first ship to much fanfare in January 2001. The...
  • Report: Saab, BAE Accused of Exaggerations

    03/08/2005 5:47:44 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 322+ views
    Associated Press Report: Saab, BAE Accused of Exaggerations 03.07.2005, 11:00 AM Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab and British-based BAE Systems exaggerated planned offset investments in order to sell their aircraft to South Africa, Swedish Radio said Monday. The public broadcaster said it analyzed the number of investments pledged by the companies, but found that most never came to fruition. South Africa bought 28 Swedish-built JAS Gripen - the first export order for the fighter - and 24 British Hawk trainer jets for its air force in 1999. The two manufacturers had promised offset investments up to 2001, mostly in civilian industry...
  • BAE to buy United Defense for $4B

    03/07/2005 7:26:17 AM PST · by MassRepublicanFlyersFan · 4 replies · 329+ views
    Reuters ^ | March 7, 2005
    Europe's biggest defense company, BAE Systems, agreed to buy U.S. firm United Defense Industries for $3.97 billion in cash Monday, bolstering its land systems business and its foothold in the United States. BAE said it would pay $75 a share for the maker of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a premium of 29 percent over United Defense's (Research) close of $58.26 on Friday.
  • BAE Systems to buy UDI for $4.2 bln

    03/07/2005 12:45:10 AM PST · by Pro-Bush · 2 replies · 397+ views
    marketwatch ^ | 3/7/2005 | Aude Lagorce
    BAE Systems to buy UDI for $4.2 bln Largest transatlantic defense deal in recent years By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch Last Update: 3:35 AM ET March 7, 2005 LONDON (MarketWatch) -- BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor, said Monday it has an agreement to buy United Defense Industries, the Bradley tank maker, for $3.97 billion in cash and $218 million in debt assumption. The deal values Arlington, Va.-based United Defense Industries, Inc., (UDI: news, chart, profile) which also makes artillery systems, naval guns and missile launchers, at $75 a share, setting a 29 percent premium to the UDI close Friday at...
  • BAE Raises [Terror] Alert in S. Arabia

    03/03/2005 4:50:11 AM PST · by Coop · 3 replies · 206+ views
    Dawn ^ | 2/27/05 | Unknown/Reuters
    RIYADH, Feb 27: Defence firm BAE Systems said on Sunday it had raised its security level in Saudi Arabia after receiving intelligence of possible terror attacks. But a Saudi official and a Western diplomat said they had no new information pointing to a planned strike by Al Qaeda supporters in the kingdom. "We've raised our security status from amber to red," BAE spokesman Walid Abu Khalid said. "We got intelligence that there is a threat from terrorists." "This threat is not specific to BAE. It's generic," he said. Saudi Arabia has been battling Al Qaeda militants since a triple suicide...
  • British arms firm will spurn China if embargo ends

    02/21/2005 11:55:10 PM PST · by MadIvan · 3 replies · 279+ views
    The Times ^ | Febuary 22, 2005 | Michael Evans, Anthony Browne and Gabriel Rozenberg
    BRITAIN’S largest defence company, BAE Systems, will not sell arms to China if the European Union lifts its arms embargo, for fear of jeopardising its extensive American interests.The disclosure to The Times last night added fuel to the longrunning dispute between the United States and EU, which threatens to sour the new mood of unity between the two blocs when President Bush meets European leaders in Brussels today. Mr Bush conspicuously failed to mention the dispute during his wideranging speech in Brussels yesterday, in which he appealed for a “new era of transatlantic unity”. However, Peter Mandelson, the European Trade...
  • When You Think Battlefield Armor, Think BAE?

    06/04/2004 12:52:43 PM PDT · by Ernest_at_the_Beach · 38 replies · 427+ views
    Reuters ^ | Fri Jun 4, 2004 10:42 AM ET | F. Brinley Bruton
    LONDON (Reuters) - With its last-minute swoop on tank-maker Alvis, Europe's biggest military contractor BAE Systems seeks to meet armies' renewed demand for traditional battlefield equipment. BAE Systems on late Thursday said it would buy the maker of the Vickers Challenger tank and other armored vehicles for 355 million pounds ($651 million), or 320 pence per share. Alvis withdrew its recommendation for a 280p bid by U.S. military contractor General Dynamics. BAE's move tracks the increasing dependence of armed forces on armored vehicles in the wake of the war in Iraq, experts said on Friday. "What Iraq showed was that...
  • BAE says it cannot build ships to budget (UK's new aircraft carriers)

    07/14/2003 2:31:12 AM PDT · by alnitak · 11 replies · 357+ views
    The Financial Times ^ | July 13 2003 22:09 | Last Updated: July 13 2003 22:09 | Mark Odell
    The UK Royal Navy may have to accept a sharp reduction in the size of its two new aircraft carriers after BAE Systems warned it could not build the designs to budget. The company, which is Britain's biggest defence contractor, has told the Ministry of Defence that it would cost up to £4bn to construct the pair, compared with the £2.8bn costing in January. BAE won the lead role on the programme to build the warships - the biggest ever to be built in Europe - after a bitter battle with Thales of France. The navy has been told there...
  • BAE plans merger with Lockheed or Boeing

    06/08/2003 10:18:37 AM PDT · by budanski · 16 replies · 459+ views
    telegraph.co.uk ^ | Filed: 08/06/2003 | By Mary Fagan
    BAE Systems has informed the Government that it is planning a giant transatlantic merger with one of its US defence rivals, either Boeing or Lockheed Martin. The UK's biggest defence company has made it clear that its future lies in North America and has discussed the implications in recent weeks with Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, and Geoff Hoon, the secretary of state for defence. A mega-merger is expected later this year, according to executives of the company. One said: "BAE has always said there will be more consolidation and that it would be part of that. It...
  • Terrorists 'target BAE staff in Saudi'

    02/14/2003 5:34:11 PM PST · by MadIvan · 4 replies · 279+ views
    The Daily Telegraph ^ | February 15, 2003 | John R Bradley
    Islamic radicals may be targeting employees of British Aerospace in Saudi Arabia in a systematic terror campaign. In addition to a British BAE employee fired on in Riyadh on Feb 6, the Australian embassy has confirmed that one of its nationals working for the company was attacked a week earlier in the garrison town of Khamis Mushayt. Last June, another Australian employee of BAE in the northern garrison town of Tabuk was fired on by a sniper who had been lying in wait outside a BAE residential compound. All three targeted workers were unharmed. BAE has been in the kingdom...