Wednesday, March 7, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: 10 Companies Profiting Most From War

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: 10 Companies Profiting Most From War
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale, 24/7 Wall St. - The Bottom Line on msnbc.msn.com
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 7, 2012: Global sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest defense contractors increased in 2010 to $411.1 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The increase reflects a decade-long trend of growing military spending. Since 2002, total arms sales among the 100 largest arms manufacturers have increased 60 percent.
The institute recently published its annual report on the leading arms producing companies in the world -- SIPRI Top 100. The report identifies the largest companies in the sector and provides each company’s arms sales as a percentage of its total sales. Based on the report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 companies with the highest revenue from arms sales. These companies alone account for $230 billion -- over half of all arms sales that year.

While many industries continued to suffer in 2010 as a result of the financial crisis, leaders in the arms and military services were largely unaffected. According to SIPRI arms industry expert Susan Jackson, when sales dropped, it was not because of the financial crisis. Instead, Jackson notes that loss in sales was due to “the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and the subsequent expected decrease in related equipment sales.”
The composition of the 10 largest manufacturers reflects the state of modern warfare. More and more, battles are fought remotely through air surveillance and strikes rather than on-the-ground combat. As a consequence, seven of the 10 largest companies are among the leading aerospace companies. Surveillance and battlefield communications also are increasingly important in modern warfare. All of the companies in the top 10 have significant electronics divisions.
Of the 100 companies on the list, 44 are based in the U.S., including Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The American companies account for more than 60 percent of arms sales revenue of the 100 manufacturers. Seven of SIPRI’s top 10 are American, one is British, one is Italian and one is a multinational EU conglomerate. The U.S. federal government has contract deals with all seven American companies. These seven are among the top 10 U.S. federal contractors by amount procured, according to the government’s Federal Procurement Data System.
24/7 Wall St.’s analysis of the SIPRI 100 includes revenue for arms sales for 2007, 2009 and 2010, as well as percentage of company revenue from arms sales, employees, industry and applicable military division. 24/7 Wall St. also included history of each company and notable weapons systems manufactured.
These are the companies profiting most from war.
1. Lockheed Martin 
  • Arms sales 2010: $35.73 billion
  • Total sales 2010: $45.80 billion
  • Arms sales as pct. of total sales: 78 percent
  • Total profit: $2.93 billion
  • Total employment: 132,000
  • Sector: Aircraft, Electronics, Missiles, Space
Lockheed Martin is the largest arms-producing and military services company in the world, with nearly $3 billion more in arms sales than second place BAE Systems. Although military sales make up the majority of its revenue, it is significantly less than many other major arms-producers, including BAE’s 95 percent share. In addition to being the world’s largest arms-seller, Lockheed is also the largest federal contractor in the U.S. by a large margin. In 2010, the company’s government contracts totaled nearly $36 billion. Lockheed produces a number of major products, including the Trident missile and the F-16 and F-22 fighter jets. Despite being the largest military service company on this list, Lockheed is only the fourth-largest company by overall sales among the companies featured on this list. In 2007, the Lockheed was the third-largest arms producer.

2. BAE Systems
  • Arms sales 2010: $32.88 billion
  • Total sales 2010: $34.61 billion
  • Arms sales as pct. of total sales: 95 percent
  • Total profit: $1.67 billion
  • Total employment: 98,200
  • Sector: Aircraft, Artillery, Electronics, Missiles, Military vehicles, Small arms/ammunition, Ships
BAE Systems is an aerospace and defense contractor based in the UK. The company has a major U.S. subsidiary, BAE Systems, Inc., which by itself would be the seventh-largest weapons manufacturer in the world. The British company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Marconi Electronics (which was at the time a subsidiary of GE) and British Aerospace. BAE produces weapons systems in nearly every major military category, including aircraft, defense electronics, vehicles, naval vessels and small arms. Among the company’s notable contributions are the M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicle, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Type 45 destroyer and the Astute-class nuclear submarine. In 2010, 95 percent of its revenue came from arms sales, $32.88 billion in all.
3. Boeing 
  • Arms sales 2010: $31.36 billion
  • Total sales 2010: $64.31 billion
  • Arms sales as pct. of total sales: 49 percent
  • Total profit: $3.31 billion
  • Total employment: 160,500
  • Sector: Aircraft, Electronics, Missiles, Space
As recently as 2007, Boeing was the largest arms producer in the world. By 2008, it had fallen behind Lockheed Martin and U.K.-based BAE Systems. The aerospace and defense company remains one of the largest in the world, however. Boeing is the second-largest aircraft producer in the world by deliveries, behind only Airbus. It is also the second-largest U.S. government contractor, procuring just under $19.5 billion in contracts in 2010. Major products produced by the company include the KC-767, an aerial refueling tanker, and the F-15 fighter jet. Boeing made less in arms sales in 2010 than it did in 2009, although arms sales made up a larger amount of total sales -- two percentage points, to be exact -- in 2010 compared to 2009. Even in 2010, however, only 49 percent of revenue came from arms sales, which is among the lowest rates among companies on this list.
4. Northrop Grumman 
  • Arms sales 2010: $28.15 billion
  • Total sales 2010: $34.76 billion
  • Arms sales as pct. of total sales: 81 percent
  • Total profit: $2.05 billion
  • Total employment: 117,100
  • Sector: Aircraft, Electronics, Missiles, Ships, Space
Northrop Grumman is the fourth-largest weapons contractor in the U.S. The company, which is based in Falls Church, Va., is one of the leaders in aerospace technology and the leading producer of naval vessels in the world. The company manufactures Nimitz-class carriers that are the current flagships of the U.S. Navy. And over the next few years it is also set to build the new, $9.7 billion Gerald R. Ford-class supercarriers. Northrop Grumman also develops radar systems for aircraft and ground defense, sensor systems for a variety of vehicles and several unmanned aircraft and drones. Weapons systems sales accounted for 81 percent of company revenue in 2010. Arms sales grew by approximately $3.5 billion between 2007 and 2010.

5. General Dynamics
  • Arms sales 2010: $23.94 billion
  • Total sales 2010: $32.47 billion
  • Arms sales as pct. of total sales: 74 percent
  • Total profit: $2.62 billion
  • Total employment: 90,000
  • Sector: Artillery, Electronics, Military vehicles, Small arms/ammunition, Ships
General Dynamics is an American defense company that deals in aerospace, combat systems, information systems and technology, and marine systems. Although the company has been around since 1952, it has enjoyed a resurgence beginning in the 1990s, thanks largely to a number of mergers. Since 1997 General Dynamics says it has acquired more than 50 companies. Over this same period, its revenue increased from $4 billion to more than $32 billion. It also added more than 60,000 employees to its workforce. Currently, 74 percent of the company’s sales are arms sales. General Dynamics owns Electric Boat and Bath Iron Works, two of the largest naval vessel builders in the world. General Dynamics is notable known for its Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, the Seawolf-class submarine, the M1 Abrams tank and the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer.
Click here to read the rest of the companies profiting the most from war.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale, 24/7 Wall St. - The Bottom Line on msnbc.msn.com
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: F-35A Takes Flight At Eglin

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: F-35A Takes Flight At Eglin
*Air Force flies first F-35A local orientation flight at Eglin Air Force Base
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Lockheed Martin
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 7, 2012: The 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., flew its first local F-35 Lightning II sortie March 6, marking a major milestone for the Joint Strike Fighter training program.
Piloted by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Smith, Director of Operations for the 58th Fighter Squadron, the local orientation flight launched at 10:09 a.m. and included operational flight checks. An F-16 chase plane was piloted by Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, 58th Fighter Squadron Commander.

"Our first sortie is truly a milestone for the program," said Col. Andrew Toth, 33d Fighter Wing commander. "There has been a lot of preparation that has gone into this historic event. Our integrated training team members were truly excited to see the jet take off today."

Early in the flight, F-16 chase pilots observed a small amount of fluid venting from the F-35 aircraft. The pilot, following standard operating procedures, returned the aircraft safely back to the base after an approximate 20 minute flight.

"The objective for today was to be able to launch an aircraft out, conduct an operational check flight with the system, get it out to the airspace and then bring that aircraft back safely and effectively and we achieved many of those objectives," said Col. Toth.

"Since F-35s arrived last summer, we've been conducting engine runs and taxi operations, maintenance training with instructors and virtual trainers, as well as developing pilot curriculum. We completed multiple successful small group tryouts on our training systems and will continue to improve those processes as we prepare for training."

The wing's two F-35 pilots, in conjunction with its integrated team of military members, civilians and contractors, will begin to slowly build up their number of sorties with an initial goal of flying twice a week for the first couple of weeks and then steadily increasing the weekly sortie count.

"I'm very pleased with the work that's been done by our entire team to bring us to this phase in the F-35 program," said Gen. Edward Rice Jr., commander of Air Education and Training Command, who approved F-35 flight operations to begin. "We continue to make steady progress towards our goal of standing up a world class training program at Eglin."

The F-35 Integrated Training Center at Eglin AFB will be the benchmark for F-35 pilot and maintainers worldwide. The center includes pilot and maintenance training equipment, support, systems and facilities for all three aircraft variants and will train approximately 100 pilots and 2,200 maintainers annually.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Lockheed Martin
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: What If Japan Dumps Lockheed Martin?

Defense News: DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: What If Japan Dumps Lockheed Martin?
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Navjot Kaur, The Motley Fool - Daily Finance
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 7, 2012: Japan recently made its first public announcement that it may cancel its big order for Lockheed Martin's (NYS: LMT) F-35 fighter planes if the company adds to the pre-decided price or extends the delivery period of these planes. The cancellation can potentially wipe out more than $5 billion that Lockheed is expected to earn from the deal.
A flashback
After the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il late in 2011, uncertainty and instability cropped up in the Korean peninsula, an area where 1.7 million troops from North Korea, South Korea, and the U.S. are stationed. In the wake of North Korea improving its ballistic missiles and both Russia and China developing stealth fighters, Japan -- with the world's sixth-largest defense budget -- also planned on improving its air defense network.
Japan placed an order to buy 42 F-35 fighter jets, costing between $114 million and $122 million per unit. This marked the F-35's first win in a competitive tender, as well as Japan's costliest fighter jet procurement. The company is expected to begin delivery of the planes in 2016, beginning with four jets.
F-35 program in troubleThe F-35 is expected to become the centerpiece of military forces in the U.S. and other countries. Lockheed Martin is supposed to develop 2,400 F-35s for the U.S. and other nations, helped by industry peers Northrop Grumman (NYS: NOC) and BAE Systems. However, the program has run into a series of cost overruns and delays.
Recently, Lockheed faced a delay in orders from the U.S. and some order cancellations from Italy, owing to defense budget cuts in those nations. This has effectively slowed down the company's production and reduced its ability to generate bulk orders for supplies, thereby increasing the cost per aircraft. In fact, the cost of this program has now increased to $385 billion from $233 billion earlier, and it may go up even further.
This means Lockheed will now have to charge a higher price per aircraft, and there is a chance of delay in delivery, as well.
The Japanese dilemmaGiven its uncertain economic condition and military buildup in neighboring countries, neither the delay nor the price hike will go down well in Japan. The Japanese military requires further confirmation and clarity on the cost and delivery details before summer, without which the country has threatened to cancel the F-35 order and look for a replacement instead. That's surely bad news for Lockheed.
What if Lockheed fails?Naturally, the other bidders for this contract stand to gain. Lockheed's F-35 jet was short-listed over two lower-cost, combat-tested aircraft, including Boeing's (NYS: BA) F-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter GmbH's Typhoon fighter. Despite costing over $100 million per unit, the F-35 was selected because of its next-generation stealth design, which provides radar-evading facilities from the front and back of the aircraft.
The F-35s are supposed to replace Boeing F-4s, which were last assembled in Japan in 1981. In case Lockheed fails to clinch the deal, Boeing definitely has an edge over other competitors, as it is a tried-and-tested supplier of Japan's military requirements.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Navjot Kaur, The Motley Fool - Daily Finance
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 6, 2012

Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 6, 2012
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 6, 2012: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued  March 6, 2012 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS
NAVY
            Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc.*, Virginia Beach, Va. (N65236-12-D-4113); CDW Government, L.L.C., Vernon Hills, Ill. (N65236-12-D-4114); Global Technology Resources, Inc.*, Denver, Colo. (N65236-12-D-4115); GTSI Corp.*, Herndon, Va. (N65236-12-D-4116); iGov Technologies, Inc.*, McLean, Va. (N65236-12-D-4117); Mercom, Inc.*, Pawleys Island, S.C. (N65236-12-D-4118); Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va. (N65236-12-D-4119); Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Ga. (N65236-12-D-4120); and World Wide Technology, Inc., St. Louis, Mo. (N65236-12-D-4121), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price, multiple award supply contract for the procurement of commercial-off-the-shelf, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, information operations, and information awareness equipment and related incidental support services.  Each contractor will be awarded $11,111 at the time of award.  These contracts include options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative combined value of these contracts to an estimated $500,000,000.  Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Va.; Vernon Hills, Ill.; Denver, Colo.; Herndon, Va.; McLean, Va.; Pawleys Island, S.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; and St. Louis, Mo.  Work is expected to be completed by March 2013; if all options are exercised, work could continue until March 2017.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The multiple award contracts were competitively procured by full and open competition via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center e-Commerce Central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 13 offers received.  The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C. is the contracting activity.

            The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $8,086,000 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-09-C-0019) to procure aircraft armament equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18 G fighter aircraft including 57 SUU-78 A/A pylons, and 40 ALE-50 well covers.  Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in December 2014.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
            CareFusion Solutions, San Diego, Calif., was awarded a fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract with a maximum $75,000,000 for medical equipment, maintenance and/or spare parts/repair parts of medical equipment.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  There were 70 responses to the Web solicitation.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 through 2017 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 5, 2017.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2D1-12-D-8302).

AIR FORCE
            Applied Research Associates, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a $15,295,188 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a program to develop technologies to aid the analyst in geolocating images and videos in any outdoor terrestrial location in the world.  The location of the performance is Albuquerque, N.M.  Work is expected to be completed Aug 6, 2016.  AFRL/PKDB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-12-C-7214).

*Small business


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Source: U.S. DoD issued No. 157-12 March 6, 2012
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ripple Effect From India's Biggest Defense Deal

Defense News: DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ripple Effect From India's Biggest Defense Deal
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Harsh V. Pant - Special to The Japan Times
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 6, 2012: First it was the United States that got annoyed, and now it is Britain's turn to ask some tough questions about its India policy. Ever since the French Rafale fighter was declared the lowest bidder in the multibillion dollar contract to provide a new generation fighter for the Indian Air Force, a debate has been raging in the United Kingdom as to what went wrong with Prime Minister David Cameron's charm offensive in wooing India.
His visit to India in 2010 was widely viewed as a highly successful. He made all the right noises in India about Pakistan and terrorism, and there was a sense that U.K.-India ties had finally turned a corner. The Cameron government has also decided to give India £1.4 billion between now and 2015, amounting to almost 1 percent of Britain's own £159 billion debt.

But when it came to the much sought-after Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract, France was the winner and the Eurofighter, produced by a consortium of four nations, including Britain's BAE systems, lost. Apparently, saying the right things and giving aid doesn't get you any influence in New Delhi!

From the very beginning, this saga has been rather interesting. Last year in April, India rejected bids by Lockheed Martin and Boeing (along with Russian and Swedish bids) for the $10 billion-plus contract for the 126 combat aircraft, despite extensive lobbying by the U.S. military-industrial complex, supported by President Barack Obama himself.

Nothing works better in New Delhi than a putdown to the U.S. — and that was quite a snub indeed! Instead, New Delhi short-listed Dassault Aviation's Rafale and the Eurofighter Consortium's Typhoon. There were extensive field trials, and technical considerations ostensibly drove the final decision. But the dismay in Washington was widespread and, to some extent, understandable given the investment that the U.S. has made in cultivating India in recent years.

The focus then shifted to the French vs. British, Rafale vs. Eurofighter rivalry in which the French came out on top. Dassault Aviation, Rafale's French manufacturer, will be entering into commercial negotiations with India over the next few months before final deals are signed. As this is a company that has been struggling to get foreign buyers, it would be keen on signing the contract more or less on Indian terms.

Deemed expensive and not cutting edge, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Morocco, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland have all turned Rafale down in the last few years. India, in more ways than one, will now be subsidizing the French defense sector.

India's decision was clearly influenced by the price factor as the EADS Eurofighter Typhoon is a much more expensive venture. But technology transfer was clearly another guiding factor with the tender stipulating 50 percent direct offset obligation for the winning bidder.

The Indian Air Force's familiarity with French Mirage 2000 aircraft would also have helped as Rafale is operationally and technically similar to the Mirage 2000. India would be buying the aircraft over 10 years with 18 Rafale jets constructed in Dassault plants in France and 108 assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics in India.

Coming just before French elections in which President Nicholas Sarkozy is trailing, this decision will boost his prospects.

It's no wonder that Sarkozy was euphoric, suggesting that "France is delighted at the decision by the Indian government. ... It will include important technology transfers guaranteed by the French government."

At a time when major European countries are drastically cutting their defense budgets, the defense sector needs external help to survive and India's decision will be a big help to France. Dassault was quick to react, saying it is "honored and grateful to the government and people of India." In Britain, on the other hand, there are fears of job losses at BAE Systems, which owns 33 percent of Eurofighter. The deal has been described a "major win for France and a major loss for the U.K." The U.K. government, at least publicly, is still hoping that New Delhi could yet reject the French offer and turn to the Eurofighter.

This is India's largest defense contract at a time when India's defense modernization has been attracting a lot of attention. The fighter levels in the IAF have dropped to an all-time low of 32 squadrons compared with an official level of 39.5 and a desired 42 squadrons. The IAF is desperate to replace its aging fleet of MiG 21 fighters.

At one level, the seeming transparency of the process should indeed be heartening to those who have puzzled over India's inability to get its defense modernization program on track for some time now.

For a usually lackadaisical Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) this is a welcome change. After years of returning unspent money, the MoD last year not only managed to spend its entire budget but also asked for capital procurement funds.

Now, with movement on the MMRCA bids, it is clear that the ministry wants to move swiftly on new defense procurement, relegating its ultra-cautious approach to the sidelines.

But there is a larger question that still needs to be answered. Major defense purchases are not an end in themselves. Ideally, they should be a means of helping a nation achieve its strategic objectives.

It's not readily evident what strategic objectives of India are being served by choosing Rafale over Typhoon. One can only hope that the Indian defense establishment is not missing the wood for the trees.

Harsh V. Pant is a professor of defense studies at King's College, London.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Harsh V. Pant - Special to The Japan Times
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 1st P-8A Poseidon Production Aircraft To US Navy‏

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 1st P-8A Poseidon Production Aircraft To US Navy‏
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 6, 2012: Boeing [NYSE: BA] on March 4 officially delivered the first production P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the U.S. Navy in Seattle. The P-8A is the first of 13 anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft Boeing will deliver as part of a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract awarded in 2011.
“Delivering this capability to the warfighter is the ultimate goal and we’re proud to be able to meet our commitment and hand over the P-8A ‘keys’ to the Navy fleet,” said Chuck Dabundo, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. “This is a great day for Boeing, our supplier teammates and our Navy customer.”
“The Navy fleet is more than ready to receive the P-8A, which will provide the users and operators a step increase in mission capabilities,” said Rear Admiral Paul Grosklags, U.S. Navy Program Executive Officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault & Special Mission Programs. “Thanks to Boeing and the entire team for its efforts and great partnership to date.”
Following delivery in Seattle, Navy pilots flew the first production P-8A, LRIP1-1, to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where it will be used for aircrew training.
The Poseidon team is using a first-in-industry in-line production process that draws on Boeing’s Next-Generation 737 production system. All P-8A-unique aircraft modifications are made in sequence during fabrication and assembly.
Along with production aircraft, the P-8A team also has built and is testing six flight-test and two ground-test aircraft. The flight-test aircraft are based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and have completed more than 1,500 flight hours.
A derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, the Poseidon is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.
The Navy plans to purchase 117 Boeing 737-based P-8A aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 62,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.
Contact:
Chick Ramey
The Boeing Company
Office: 253-657-5636
Mobile: 206-851-4147
charles.b.ramey@boeing.com
LaToya Graddy
U.S. Navy
301-757-8690
latoya.graddy@navy.mil

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS