BAE SYSTEMS awardED HAWK SUPPORT CONTRACT BY HAL

NEW DELHI, India - BAE Systems has secured a five-year contract worth GBP 18.5 million to provide Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a comprehensive package comprising Ground Support Equipment, Spares, Support and Training for the Hawk Mk132 advanced jet trainer. This is in support of HAL’s plans to establish a dedicated Repair & Overhaul facility for the aircraft in advance of a major servicing milestone anticipated in 2016.

The agreement was signed at Aero India 2015 between Wing Commander Benjamin, Retd., General Manager – Overhaul Division, HAL and Steve Timms, Managing Director, Defence Information, Training and Services, Military Air & Information, BAE Systems, in the presence of HAL’s Managing Director, Bangalore Complex Naresh Babu and Chris Boardman, Managing Director, Military Air & Information, BAE Systems.

Steve Timms, Managing Director, Defence Information, Training and Services, said: “This agreement deepens our partnering commitment to HAL and further develops HAL’s in-country capabilities that are helping to deliver an enhanced training capability to the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.”

India is the largest operator of the Hawk advanced jet trainer with 123 aircraft ordered to date, of which over 90 have been delivered to the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The Hawks in service have clocked up nearly 70,000 flying hours. BAE Systems has commenced contract negotiations with HAL on a potential order to supply products and services for the manufacture of a further 20 Hawk aircraft. The aircraft, to be built by HAL in Bengaluru, will fulfil the Indian Air Force’s requirement for its prestigious aerobatic team.

F-35 Lightning II optical assemblies to be manufactured at plant

 Rockwell Collins celebrated the expansion of the company’s Sydney facility where F-35 Lightning II Distributed Aperture System (DAS) optical assemblies will be manufactured. DAS imagery projected onto the pilot’s helmet-mounted display provides the capability to, in effect, look virtually at terrain and the rest of the outside world, through the floor and wings of the aircraft

Feb. 20, 2015 SYDNEY, Australia - The Hon’able Anthony Roberts MP, representing the Premier of New South Wales and Consul General Hugo Llorens, representing the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, joined Rockwell Collins executives on Friday to celebrate the expansion of the company’s Sydney facility where F-35 Lightning II Distributed Aperture System (DAS) optical assemblies will be manufactured.

In 2014, Rockwell Collins signed a long-term agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation to produce optical assemblies in Australia for the DAS on the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft. 

“With the support and investment of the Commonwealth of Australia, we’re proud to be able to produce this vital assembly in Australia while showcasing Rockwell Collins Australia’s precision manufacturing capability for optics,” said Phil Jasper, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Government Systems, for Rockwell Collins. “Having access to new state-of-the-art manufacturing capability located in Australia is a great example of the truly international nature of the F-35 program.”

The DAS is a multifunction infrared system that provides passive, spherical battlespace awareness for F-35 pilots by simultaneously detecting and tracking aircraft and missiles in every direction, as well as providing visual imagery for day/night navigation.

DAS imagery projected onto the pilot’s helmet-mounted display provides the capability to, in effect, look virtually at terrain and the rest of the outside world, through the floor and wings of the aircraft. The DAS works in conjunction with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and other onboard systems to give pilots an unprecedented degree of situational awareness.

AgustaWestland To Seek Arbitration in Troubled Indian Helo Deal

Italian company AgustaWestland said Friday it will invoke arbitration over the scandal-plagued $720 million sale of AW101 helicopters to India.

AgustaWestland likely will seek arbitration through an Indian court, though no executive of the company would say what their next step would be.

The Indian government halted the contract to buy 12 AW101 helicopters earlier this year after Giuseppe Orsi, then CEO of AgustaWestland parent company Finmeccanica, was arrested in Italy and charged with paying bribes to secure the Indian deal while he was CEO of AgustaWestland. New Delhi stopped payments on the contract and referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The corruption charges are under investigation separately in Italy and India.

In a news release, AgustaWestland said on Oct. 4 it was invoking “arbitration on the scandal on the sale of helicopters to the Indian government.”

The suspension of the payments does not respect the terms of the contract, according to the statement, and the Indian Ministry of Defence has not responded to the company’s requests since April.

Sitanshku Kar, Indian MoD spokesman, refused to comment on the decision of the Italian company. India contracted the deal to buy 12 AW101 helicopters for $720 million in 2010

Credit by : http://greenstylo.blogspot.in/

FIRST ANTIGEN RAPID TEST FOR EBOLA THROUGH EMERGENCY ASSESSMENT AND ELIGIBLE FOR PROCUREMENT

Bengaluru, 21 th Feb, 2015 - WHO has assessed and today listed the ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test Kit (Corgenix, USA) as eligible for procurement to Ebola affected countries. The test was evaluated under WHO’s Emergency Assessment and Use, a procedure established to provide minimum quality, safety and performance assurance for diagnostic products in the context of the Ebola emergency.

Ebola is currently being tested in laboratories largely through the detection of the virus’s nucleic acid (genetic material), using commercial or in-house tests. Nucleic acid tests (NATs) are more accurate but are complex to use and require well-established laboratories and fully trained personnel. In addition, turn-around time can vary between 12 and 24 hours.

The ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test, which can provide results within 15 minutes, is based on detection of the Ebola protein rather than nucleic acid. When compared with the results of a NAT previously listed by WHO and currently being used in the field (RealStar® Filovirus Screen RT-PCR Kit 1.0, altona Diagnostics GmbH), ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test is able to correctly identify about 92% of Ebola infected patients and 85% of those not infected with the virus.

While less accurate, the antigen test is rapid, easy to perform and does not require electricity – it can therefore be used at lower health care facilities or in mobile units for patients in remote settings. Where possible, results from ReEBOV antigen Rapid Test Kit should be confirmed by testing a new blood sample using an approved Ebola NAT. ## amit.sunrisemirror@gmail.com##

IRKUT to Complete Su-30MKI Kit Deliveries to India in 2015

                                                                     Su-30MKI 

Bengaluru, 18^th March,2014 - IRKUT Corporation of Russia will complete deliveries of Su-30MKI aircraft kits to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited  (HAL) during 2015. In total,  IRKUT Corporation will have successfully delivered 222 aircraft kits for assembly at (HAL) Nashik plant.

Currently HAL is in Phase IV of assembly which means it is manufacturing parts from the raw material stage with complete transfer of technology from IRKUT Corporation.  The Su-30MKI program is a shining example of India-Russia defence cooperation.

HAL has also mastered the overhaul of Su-30MKI program and delivered the first overhauled aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the end of 2014. To master the whole scope of overhaul procedure is a real challenge with the overhaul technology documentation having been developed by HAL specialists.  We at IRKUT supplied the overhaul equipment and assisted in their installation and shared with HAL our experience in such work.

IRKUT Corporation is happy to state that HAL and several Indian companies involved in the Su-30MKI program have mastered the technology of manufacturing many complex parts and assemblies of this front-line fighter aircraft.

Going forward we envisage further evolution of the Su-30MKI joint program. The integration of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile onto the Su-30MKI to force-multiply its strike capability is being done in India. The up-gradation of the Su-30MKI aircraft for significant enhancement of its combat and operational capabilities is being positively considered by both sides.