March 16, 2020 | International, Naval
By: Tom Kington
As Italy's coronavirus crisis worsens, state shipbuilder Fincantieri has suspended operations for two weeks at its Italian facilities.
The announcement on Friday came as Italian authorities reported Italy's death toll from the virus had reached 1,266, while the total number of cases reached 17,660. This week, the Italian government placed the entire country under lockdown, restricting travel unless for work reasons and shutting down most shops as it attempts to slow the spread of the virus.
Fincantieri said that following a request from unions, it would suspend production in Italy from March 16 to March 29.
Fincantieri tried to reduce its exposure to the virus through teleworking and halting of business travel by staff.
Italy's other major defense company, Leonardo, said this week it could not rule out the “temporary, partial and targeted suspension of operations of certain departments within production sites.”
The firm also said marketing campaigns, supply chains, production and delivery times would likely be affected by the crisis. Leonardo expects to give an up update on impact of the virus on its financial performance soon. It reported revenue of 13.8 billion euros in 2019, up 12.6 percent year over year, thanks to healthy performance by its defense electronics and security and aeronautics divisions.
November 10, 2021 | International, Land
Since Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood took over the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, he's overseen the Pentagon's attempt to build the U.S. hypersonic weapons industrial base, begun fielding hypersonic launchers and other equipment to the first unit to receive the capability and has started building out the first battery of a laser-weapon equipped Stryker combat vehicle.
November 10, 2024 | International, Naval
A key exercise next year will focus on the feasibility of using unmanned vessels to enforce a security perimeter at sea.
June 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Spain, June 16, 2020 - Indra, one of the world's leading global technology and consulting companies has made significant progress in its role as a national industrial coordinator in Spain and the leader of four of the eight core elements of the European Defence program NGWS / FCAS (Next Generation Weapon System / Future Combat Air System). Today, Indra signed the General Protocol that establishes the commitment given by Spanish companies to the Ministry of Defence in the program that will define the future of the Defence industry in Europe. The document sets out the responsibilities that the Ministry has assigned to each of these companies to provide Spain's Armed Forces with the required capabilities and at the same time to increase the sector's strategic autonomy. Ángel Olivares, Secretary of State, signed the agreement on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, while Ignacio Mataix, Managing Director for Transport and Defence signed on behalf of Indra. By signing this protocol, Indra strengthens its role as coordinator of Spanish industry within the program and as representative to the industrial coordinators appointed by France and Germany, Dassault and Airbus, respectively. In addition, this consolidates Indra's position as the Spanish leader of four of the eight core elements on which the program has been structured. The company leads the two main crossover elements (the system's Concept Study and the one related to coherence among other project elements), together with Dassault and Airbus. In addition, Indra is responsible for two of the technological elements: Sensors and the System of Systems, which involves the development efforts required to ensure that the different systems in each of the technological elements of the project can be managed as a whole, thus facilitating operations in Combat Cloud mode. Indra has made significant progress in its role as national coordinator and leader of four of the project's core elements. The company already signed an agreement with the coordinators from France (Dassault) and Germany (Airbus) to join the Joint Concept Study (JCS) that France and Germany started in February 2019. The contract that will make Indra a co-contractor together with Dassault and Airbus Germany is under final review, with the signing scheduled in the next few weeks. Since March this year, Indra has been negotiating its adherence to the ongoing contracts of Phase 1A Demonstrators, launched by France and Germany on February 20th, 2020 and related to the other program elements led by Indra. At that time, the Spanish Government signed a letter of intent to adhere to this new phase of the program and it is expected to be formalized at the end of July this year. In the meantime, the contractual amendments necessary for Spanish companies to join this Phase 1A will be made and expanded to other elements that were initially left out of the contract agreed by France and Germany; such as the Sensors element of the program. The signing of this Protocol with Spain's Ministry of Defence represents a new step forward in the implementation of the Spanish industrial strategy for the NGWS / FCAS program, the objective of which is to complete its incorporation as a full member on an equal footing with Germany and France. Indra's role as coordinator in the NGWS / FCAS program is intended to guarantee that Spanish industry reaches the maximum level of participation. Its development will generate significant know-how and added value for Spanish companies and will provide them with the opportunity to develop cutting-edge products, both in the Defence and Civil fields. Indra's appointment as the national industrial coordinator of the program ensures the maximum return of the program for Spanish industry and ownership of the technologies developed by its companies. Indra's commitment as the national coordinator in Spain is to ensure maximum return and for the NGWS/FCAS program to achieve the highest quality for Spanish industry as a whole (Defence and Civil). This all be achieved via business generation, development of its export capacity, creation of technologies that can also be used in the civil sphere and creation of high-value employment. Indra, as national coordinator, will represent the interests of Spanish industry as a whole, respecting the independence of the different companies involved in the project and strengthening its position in relation to companies from other participating nations. It is estimated that in the next decades the program will generate investments of billions of euros both in the development phase and later in the production phase. The first estimates indicate a potential economic value of the program of 300 billion euros in the next 40 years. About Indra Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technology partner for key business operations for clients worldwide. It is a leading global provider of proprietary solutions in specific segments of the Transport and Defence markets, and a leading company in digital transformation consulting and Information Technology in Spain and Latin America through its subsidiary Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with an end-to-end approach, high value and a high component of innovation. At the end of financial year 2019, Indra reported revenues of 3.204 billion euros, more than 49,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries, and commercial operations in more than 140 countries. View source version on Indra: https://www.indracompany.com/en/noticia/indra-moves-forward-spains-industrial-coordinator-leader-four-key-elements-fcas-program