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The press office for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has been trying to get media outlets within the state to remove two stories posted online because they object to the source. Earlier this month, writer Derek Draplin reported that Polis had established a new office—the Office of the Future of Work—to research the state's changing economy and workforce and make policy recommendations to the governor's office. Draplin published the article in The Center Square, a nonprofit media outlet. The factually accurate story (read it here) quotes Polis praising the creation of the office, as well as a Colorado GOP...

On Jan. 15, Airbus Defence and Space started the testing campaign of the Eurofighter Typhoon multirole combat plane with Taurus air-launched stand-off precision missiles. The first flight took place at the Manching Military Air Systems Center, north of Munich, and involved Instrumented Production Aircraft 7 (IPA7), flown by Eurofighter Project Pilot Chris Worning. Taurus KEPD 350 is a German/Swedish missile that is manufactured by Taurus Systems GmbH, a partnership between MBDA Germany and Saab Dynamics. The missile has a range of +500 kilometres (300 mi), a speed of Mach 0.8-0.9 and stealth features. The first flight came after the successful...

Typhoon at 10 years: The king of swing Performance of Typhoon jet hailed in its first decade of flying Two of the Royal Air Force’s leading officers have hailed the performance of the Eurofighter Typhoon jet during its first decade of flying and since deliveries were made to the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) in 2003. With the addition of new technology developments over the last 10 years, the aircraft is now the world's only truly ‘swing’ role jet, able to switch from air-to-air to air-to-surface attack capabilities in the same mission. Praise indeed Air Vice-Marshal Edward Stringer, the RAF’s...

Cassidian proves capabilities of a new e-scan radar demonstrated by simulation study 15:48 GMT, March 22, 2012 Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS, has demonstrated, in a simulation study, the operational advantages of the Eurofighter’s future e-scan radar and has introduced the first pilots to the particular features of this technology. The two-year study was carried out under contract to the military procurement office, which is the Bundeswehr’s Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use (BAAINBw), in cooperation with IABG GmbH in Munich/Ottobrunn. For several years, IABG has been operating a man-in-the-loop simulator (MILSIM) to simulate realistic...

Korea seeks to buy 4 air tankers in 2014 An F-15K fighter of the Korean Air Force, bottom, engages in an aerial refueling exercise with a U.S. military KC-135 tanker over the West Sea on Sept. 16. / Courtesy of the Korean Air Force By Lee Tae-hoon Military officials said Tuesday that Korea plans to push forward the long-delayed plan to purchase four aerial refueling aircraft to boost the country’s air defense capabilities. The plan has been shelved since 1994 due to budget constraints and shifts in priorities. “The military is seeking to finalize the decision next year and include...

FOCUS: Europeans trying to beat U.S. for Japan's lucrative fighter contract LONDON (Kyodo) -- Over the next few months, a consortium of European manufacturers is hoping to persuade the Japanese government to place a multibillion dollar order for the Eurofighter Typhoon as the country's next mainstay fighter aircraft. But also in the running are the F-35 Lightning II fighter, or Joint Strike Fighter, whose development is led by U.S. aircraft maker Lockheed Martin Corp., and the F/A-18 Super Hornet designed by McDonnell Douglas, part of Boeing Co. of the Untied States. Reports from Japan suggest that the stealthy F-35 is...

Europe asks Korea to join Eurofighter program By Lee Tae-hoon A multination consortium in Europe has invited Korea to join its high-end jet production project in an apparent attempt to win what would be Korea’s biggest arms-procurement deal. The move came following Seoul’s announcement that it would purchase 60 advanced fighter aircraft in line with its push to shift the country’s military posture from passive defense to proactive deterrence with a projected budget of up to 10 trillion won ($8.96 billion). “We welcome the Korean industry to participate as EADS’s full member,” Erwin Obermeier, a senior advisor of export projects...

Italy pushes Eurofighter as Turkey's 'only alternative' to US options Wednesday, May 11, 2011 ÃœMÄ°T ENGÄ°NSOY The Italian Defense Ministry continues pushing Turkey to join the Eurofighter aircraft project as an alternative to its present fleet of US-made jets. 'Turkey wants part of its fighter aircraft fleet to remain outside the technological and other influence of the United States,' says a Turkish defense analyst The pan-European Eurofighter fighter aircraft is the only viable alternative to U.S. planes in its category for the Turkish military, ItalyÂ’s deputy defense minister said late Tuesday, urging Turkey to join the ambitious European-led defense program....

EADS: Boeing’s “dumbed-down” KC-767 increases KC-Y prospects By Stephen Trimble EADS North America's top executive says recent disclosures by Boeing show the KC-767 was "dumbed-down" to win the US Air Force KC-X contract, potentially opening the door for KC-45 sales in the future. Sean O'Keefe, EADS NA chief executive, declined in an interview to admonish Boeing for his competitor's recent acknowledgement that marketing materials advertising a KC-767 with fuel-saving winglets throughout the competition were false. "I'm not going to pass judgement on anybody's marketing strategy or any competitor's veracity," O'Keefe said. "I wouldn't do that." But the absence of winglets...

PICTURES: Airbus Military completes first A330 tanker flight for Saudi Arabia By Craig Hoyle Saudi Arabia's first A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) has made its first flight in modified form, touching down on 15 March at the end of a 4h 15min sortie. Conducted from Airbus Military's Getafe site near Madrid, the debut comes ahead of the company's planned delivery of the Royal Saudi Air Force's first of six aircraft late this year. © Airbus Military "The crew reported that the aircraft, its systems and two General Electric CF6 engines performed entirely satisfactorily," says Airbus Military. The company has previously...

EADS North America will not protest the U.S. Air Force’s award of its aerial refueling tanker contract to rival Boeing, company executives said Friday. “After meeting with the Air Force and the Department of Defense and evaluating the information they provided to us … EADS North America has decided not to protest the KC-X tanker award,” EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby Jr. said Friday. “The outcome was decided by price, and Boeing’s offer was at a lower price than ours.” He also suggested it might be hard for Boeing to deliver tankers on the Air Force’s timetable and make...

Eurofighter Typhoon: It's EVEN WORSE than we thought RAF gets just 107 jets – and new budget trainwreck looms By Lewis Page This plane is new and has just been expensively upgraded. It will be scrapped soon. Analysis Yesterday the UK National Audit Office published [1] a detailed report on the current status of the infamous Eurofighter combat jet – nowadays officially known as Typhoon. We here on the Reg defence desk have always had a low opinion of the cripplingly expensive, marginally useful fighter: but even we were amazed by the new facts and figures. The Eurofighter, almost unbelievably,...

Boeing labor union credits Obama for Air Force tanker win Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 5:00 AM By George Talbot The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. will meet with top military officials on Monday to learn why its bid for the U.S. Air Force tanker contract fell short against rival Boeing Co. The details of that 10 a.m. CST meeting at the Pentagon could dictate whether or not EADS will protest the award The selection of Boeing’s KC-767 tanker, announced Thursday by the Air Force, stunned observers on both sides of the high-stakes competition for the $35 billion deal....

Merkel deplores, EADS angry over US tanker contract Berlin/Paris - German Chancellor Angela Merkel deplored Friday Washington's decision to award a 35-billion-dollar tanker contract to Boeing Co instead of rival European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. A Merkel spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said an opportunity had been missed to improve the partnership between the European Union and the United States. But he said Berlin would not be taking any action and it was up to EADS and its US partners to analyse what had happened. The contract to build 179 Boeing KC-46A planes is one of the largest in the Defence...

The US Air Force’s Tanker Gamble (Source: defense-aerospace.com; published Feb. 25, 2011) By Giovanni de Briganti PARIS --- When all is said and done, the Pentagon’s Feb. 24 decision to award the $30 billion KC-X tanker contract to Boeing is a huge gamble for both the company and the department. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the Pentagon is gambling that Boeing will be able to develop and deliver a new, highly complex tanker design in less than six years, when it needed nine years to deliver the far simpler KC-767A to the Italian air force. However, the Pentagon...

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said today that Boeing Co. won a $35 billion contract to build an air refueling tanker due to "Chicago politics." Chicago-based Boeing defeated the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. for the contract. EADS planned to assemble the tanker in Mobile. “I’m disappointed but not surprised," Shelby said. "Only Chicago politics could tip the scales in favor of Boeing’s inferior plane. EADS clearly offers the more capable aircraft. If this decision stands, our warfighters will not get the superior equipment they deserve.” Boeing wins air tanker contract The Pentagon awarded a $35 billion contract to...

Millions spent on tanker lobbying By: Chris Frates February 24, 2011 09:24 PM EST For a decade, the world’s two largest aerospace companies fought a bitter battle to build the next fleet of Air Force refueling tankers, a fight that’s likely to continue at least at the political level even after Thursday’s announcement that Boeing bested EADS for the $35 billion contract. Both sides have spent millions of dollars working to convince lawmakers and opinion leaders of their plan’s superiority and there’s too much political capital invested for any of the players to just walk away – even if EADS...

PICTURES: Eurofighter reveals Typhoon development options for Middle East By Siva Govindasamy The Eurofighter consortium is developing a roadmap for the Typhoon that it believes will offer potential customers in the Middle East options to greatly enhance the type's capabilities. "The plan is to, over the next eight to 10 years, take a phased approach to enhancing the Typhoon's capability," says Rob Wells, Eurofighter's export future business manager. "It is the exports that are driving these enhancements." Eurofighter unveiled the plans, which include optional conformal fuel tanks, at IDEX 2011. Other enhancements include the option of MBDA's Meteor beyond visual-range...

The U.S. Air Force will announce the winner of the $35 billion KC-X tanker contract on Thursday, February 24 after financial markets close. Judging from the frequency with which Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has been talking up the notion of a "globalized" defense market recently, European aerospace giant EADS is the winner. [...] From http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110223/NEWS01/702239828: Sen. Murray says Air Force tanker decision may come Thursday Sen. Patty Murray says she "won't tolerate" the Air Force choosing EADS over Boeing for the contract. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray expects the Pentagon to announce Thursday its choice between the Boeing Co. and...

Battling US for huge deal, Eurofighter woos Japan By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press TOKYO – In a deal that could be worth billions of dollars and determine one of the primary fighter jets in Asia for decades to come, European aircraft makers are trying to convince Japan to do something it has never done before — snub America. U.S. planes have long been Tokyo's overwhelming favorite, but Japan appears to be wobbling under a strong sales pitch for the Eurofighter Typhoon, coupled with problems and restrictions that have made the American alternatives less attractive. The stakes are high. The contract...