Greek parliament considers major arms deals with France

On the same subject

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  December 24, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Boeing’s Pentagon Takeover

  BY LARA SELIGMAN Patrick Shanahan, a former executive for the aerospace giant, is poised to take over for Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Boeing's growing clout with U.S. President Donald Trump's Pentagon can no longer be ignored. Trump announced Sunday morning on Twitter that he is forcing outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis to leave earlier than expected, and he named Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, as acting secretary. Mattis, a retired Marine general, was slated to leave at the end of February. Shanahan will now take over on Jan. 1. “Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!” Trump tweeted. Although Shanahan has not been formally tapped for secretary of defense, which requires Senate confirmation, sources say he is one of the White House's top picks for the job. Shanahan's ascent is just the latest manifestation of the growing influence the world's largest aerospace company has in Trump's Pentagon. In the last six months, Boeing has wonthree multibillion-dollar competitions for major Department of Defense aircraft programs, despite massive delays in delivering a new tanker fleet to the U.S. Air Force. Now, senior Pentagon leaders are forcing the Air Force to purchase a new version of Boeing's legacy F-15 fighter, a non-stealth jet that first flew in 1972, which will compete for the Air Force's limited resources with Lockheed Martin's new F-35 fighter jet. The reportedly $1.2 billion proposal to buy the a dozen new variants of the “F-15X,” the same version of the aircraft Boeing is building for Qatar, reflects Boeing's outsize influence with senior leaders in the Trump administration, a phenomenon that dates back to the beginning of the president's term. As early as February 2017, Trump floated buying additional Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, instead of the F-35. The U.S. Navy placed an order for over 100 new Super Hornets this spring. Trump also has a personal relationship with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. The two men negotiated directly to reach a $3.9 billion deal for a new Air Force One presidential aircraft, which Trump claimed saves taxpayers $1.4 billion. Certainly, Boeing has fought hard to offer the Pentagon its products at extremely competitive prices and allowed the department to boast considerable cost savings. Boeing has adopted “an across-the-board aggressive posture in lobbying, pricing, and product development, largely due to fears that they were being eclipsed,” said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. In addition, “very strong profits from Boeing's commercial jetliner side ... permits more aggressive bids by the military side.” Full article: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/23/boeing-pentagon-takeover-defense-department-mattis-shanahan

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  November 10, 2021 | International, C4ISR

  US company Viasat to acquire Britain's Inmarsat in $7.3 billion deal

  The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

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  March 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Qatar cancels major defense trade conference as coronavirus fears spread

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The Qatari government announced March 3 that the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference, or DIMDEX, is now canceled as the region combats the spread of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19. DIMDEX is among the first major defense trade shows canceled as the virus has shown signs of community spread in the Arabian Gulf region, though several high-profile companies pulled out of the Singapore Airshow due to virus fears. The biannual event, hosted by Qatar's armed forces, in 2018 hosted about 13,000 attendees, according to a news release. The announcement was made on the DIMDEX website. “Following the cancellation of a number of global events including the Mobile World Conference in Spain, ITB in Germany and the Geneva International Auto Show, the DIMDEX 2020 organising committee has been consulting with public health officials and the Government of the State of Qatar regarding the status of the event,” the announcement read. “Though the risk to the general public in Qatar remains low, our primary concern remains the health and welfare of all residents and visitors to Qatar and for this reason the event will no longer be held,” it added. The number of cases of COVID-19 in Qatar stood at three, as of March 2, according to the World Health Organization, but there have been about 1,000 cases in Iran. In the United Arab Emirates, the WHO has determined that, while the number of cases is just about 20, the virus appears to be spreading in the community. Bahrain and Kuwait have about 50 cases each, while Iraq has about 20. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2020/03/03/qatar-cancels-major-defense-trade-conference-as-coronavirus-fears-spread/