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October 2, 2019 | International, Naval

Fluor nets $1.07B for work on advanced naval nuclear propulsion

ByEd Adamczyk

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Fluor Marine Propulsion LLC received a $1.07 billion contract to continue its work at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, the Defense Department announced.

The contract covers work on naval nuclear propulsion technology, including the research, design, construction, testing, operation, maintenance and ultimate disposition to support safe and reliable operation of the country's submarine and aircraft carrier fleets.

The Laboratory is a joint U.S. Navy-U.S. Department of Energy program and is operated by Fluor, with four facilities in three states. The lab is dedicated solely to support the United States Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

The lab employs over 7,500 engineers, scientists, technicians and support personnel, all of whom will continue in their current roles and pay levels, with no reduction in force, the Pentagon said in the contract announcement.

The contract calls for management and operation of facilities in Pittsburgh; Schenectady, N.Y., and Idaho Falls, Idaho.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/10/01/Fluor-nets-107B-for-work-on-advanced-naval-nuclear-propulsion

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    September 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Cash-strapped Britain eyes shrinking its order of new early-warning planes

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Early work on stripping out two second-hand airliners has already got underway in the US ahead of the aircraft being transferred to the UK where the modification effort will create jobs. Wedgetail is not operated by the US military but has secured Australia, Turkey and South Korea as export customers. Much of the equipment for the RAF aircraft are due to be supplied by Australian industry. The move to reduce Wedgetail numbers comes as the government moves closer to taking the wraps off what it has promised to be a “fundamental” review of British defense, security, foreign policy and overseas development. Led by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his chief advisor Dominic Cummings, the review is looking at pivoting defense away from conventional sunset capabilities to more sunrise technologies in areas like space, artificial intelligence, cyber and undersea warfare. The trouble is Britain's Brexit- and Covid-19-battered economy is unlikely to find much, if anything, in the way of additional resources for an MoD which already has significant funding issues. To make room for costly future technology programs the armed services are going to have to make sacrifices elsewhere. The procurement process is likely to be in Cummings cross hairs along with conventional capabilities like main battle tanks and army personnel numbers. When the review is published, possibly around mid-November, it's likely to be a bloody affair. One industry executive here, who asked not to be named, said he thought the outcome was likely to be worse than the 2010 strategic defense and security review, which stripped out capabilities like aircraft carriers, fast jets, maritime patrol aircraft and personnel. Wheeldon said by now nobody should imagine the integrated defense review is about building Britain's defense capabilities, but quite the reverse. “If anyone really is still under the illusion that the underlying intention behind the 2020 ‘Integrated Review' process – that of forming a soundly based long-term strategic decision making process of where the UK wants to be in the future, why and what defense and security capability will be required to meet those ambitions – let them now understand that the reality is that what eventually emerges will primarily have been about further cutting of UK defense capability at a time when others, including our adversaries and would-be enemies, are increasing their expenditure in the sector.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/22/cash-strapped-britain-eyes-shrinking-its-order-of-new-early-warning-planes/

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