September 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's planned 4 billion euro ($4.71 billion) tender to buy new heavy-lift helicopters that was due to be issued this autumn will be delayed, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The planned start of the tender by the end of September would be “delayed until further notice,” the office in charge of military procurement said in a letter to several defense firms.
The procurement office did not give a reason for the delay or say when the tender would be launched. “As soon as a new date is fixed, we will inform you immediately”, it said in the short letter.
The Bundeswehr, the German military, is due to receive 45 to 60 heavy-lift transport helicopters in the coming decade.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen earlier indicated the tender could be delayed as financing of the project was not yet secured in the ongoing parliamentary budget negotiations.
Von der Leyen, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, is pushing for steeper military spending hikes, but she faces resistance from the Social Democrat-led finance ministry, which prefers more spending on infrastructure and digitalization.
Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Michael Nienaber
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By choosing the Rafale, Indonesia has opted for a unique tool of sovereignty and operational independence which will help consolidate its role as a major regional power
April 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Lee Hudson The Department of the Air Force has conducted its first-ever Space Acquisition Council (SAC) meeting and discussed the need for integration and synchronization across the national security space community, current and projected threats to U.S. interests in space, and the impact of the COVID-19 environment on the aerospace industry. Congress directed the Pentagon to establish the nascent council in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper is the SAC chairman. Additional members include Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Rayment; Shon Manasco, performing the duties of the undersecretary of the Air Force; Stephen Kitay, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Derek Tournear, Space Development Agency director; National Reconnaissance Office Director Christopher Scolese; Lt. Gen. JT Thompson, Space and Missile Systems Center commander; and Shawn Barnes, performing the duties of the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration. The SAC will hold a second, out-of-cycle meeting within the next two weeks to focus on required actions to stabilize the aerospace industry and identify how best to focus additional stimulus funding during the spread of the novel coronavirus, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said. “Our aerospace industrial base is particularly at risk as commercial markets recede and defense markets slow during COVID-19 uncertainty,” Roper said in an April 14 statement. “The Space Acquisition Council will hold an emergency session to converge on a plan of action to stabilize our industrial base. Working with Congress, we can ensure the nation's space superiority does not become a cornonavirus victim.” https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/space-symposium/usaf-monitors-covid-19-impact-space-industry
January 13, 2024 | International, Land
Kosovo wants new anti-tank weapons from Washington, as tensions in the Balkans continue to simmer.