10 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Coronavirus shaking up America’s defense industry

By: Joe Gould and Valerie Insinna

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. aerospace and defense sector is feeling the impact of the coronavirus, with companies limiting travel, defense trade events scuttled and contingency planning underway.

As stocks fell sharply Monday on a combination of coronavirus fears and plunging oil prices, defense firms were girding for the worst and looking to the White House for guidance. The comments came days after spread of the coronavirus forced the weeklong closure of two F-35 related facilities in Italy and Japan―a sign the outbreak had begun to impact operations within the American defense industrial base.

“The normal ways of doing business are definitely going to change,” said Aerospace Industries Association CEO Eric Fanning. “We're trying to get to the place where we're not reacting on a day-to-day basis to what's happening and getting in front of some of these things and maybe making some proactive decisions. But everyone is kind of looking to everyone else to take the lead on how to address this.”

Lockheed, Raytheon and Honeywell were among dozens of companies that pulled out of last month's Singapore Air Show, which is typically the largest defense trade show in Asia―and SXSW, a show AIA participates in, was cancelled. The two offer a glimpse into how fears of corona virus could impact other defense trade shows and conferences.

“It felt like a ghost town. It definitely was a strange experience,” Fanning said about the Singapore conference.

While it's easy to overstate the importance of trade shows in cementing major deals, the deals announced at the shows are often worked out in advance, Fanning said. Still, the shows are still valuable for face-to-face networking between international defense officials and industry.

As of Monday, the National Defense Industrial Association still planned to hold its Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Fla., this May. Its 2020 Pacific Operational Science and Technology Conference in Honolulu was ongoing this week, with more than 700 attendees, a spokeswoman said.

At least one major defense firm, Boeing, has limited its employees to “business-essential” travel, and it has been rescheduling some events, reducing face-to-face meetings in favor of virtual meetings, enabling telecommuting when possible.

“These measures are temporary and aimed to prevent the spread of the virus, shorten its impact and ensure the health and safety of our employees as well as the general public," a Boeing spokesman said.

The virus has infected more than 110,000 people worldwide, and Italy on Sunday followed China's lead in quarantining a big swath of its country in hopes of corralling the spread. That sparked more fears in the financial markets that quarantines would snarl supply chains for companies even more than they already have.

While COVID-19's long term impacts on the defense aerospace industry may take time to manifest, they could be complicated by the uncertainty of the financial market and ongoing trade wars with China, according to Fanning and others.

“Supply chains are global, they're inter-related, they're incredibly complex. Having real good situational awareness into them is difficult to begin with, then you add any instability on top of it, it gets harder. And this definitely is added to that,” Fanning said.

The new coronavirus is now spreading on every continent except Antarctica and hurting consumer spending, industrial production, and travel.

As COVID-19 spreads around the world, many investors feel helpless in trying to estimate how much it will hurt the economy and corporate profits, and the easiest response to such uncertainty may be to get out. After initially taking an optimistic view on the virus — hoping that it would remain mostly in China and cause just a short-term disruption — investors are realizing they likely woefully underestimated it.

On Monday, the Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense Index was down 26 percent over the last month, lagging the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was down 18 percent.

“Defense should do relatively better [than consumer sectors], but it's not gonna be immune,” said Byron Callan, a policy research expert at Capital Alpha Partners. “It's gonna catch a mild fever where, you know, there are gonna be other parts of the U.S. economy that are gonna be in a critical situation."

“Buy-America” regulations and other controls mean the U.S. defense industry's supply chains may be less susceptible to disruption than some consumer sectors, where reliance on China-made components is more widespread―and few, if any supply chains are as globally linked as the F-35's, said U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Defense and Aerospace Export Council's president, Keith Webster.

“I would say in the U.S. defense sector's supply chain is less vulnerable than maybe a product in the commercial sector, but we'll have to see,” Webster said. “If this continues across the F-35 partner nations, with their industrial sharing, one could see an impact.”

On the flip side, China's weeks-long factory closures could eventually see parallels in the U.S., if the virus is not quickly contained. White collar employees may be able to telecommute, but if skilled laborers are forced to stay home, that could mean problems for the primes and their lower-tier suppliers.

“Are there parallels to China in the U.S.? We don't know,” Webster said. “The first step is containment, and the next step is mitigation. China went into mitigation very quickly, which is keeping everybody home. We're just beginning to see that thought process here.”

Short of factory closings, factory workers staying home for school closures or to care for sick relatives could trigger work slow downs, particularly at the lower tiers of the supply chain, especially the ones that rely on smaller pools of workers. Those companies could suffer too if they rely on the commercial side of the aerospace sector, which is expected to be harder hit, Callan said.

“You can see the ramifications on the pace of work, but it's not like the airline industry or the cruise ship industry where all of a sudden none of your customers show up,” Callan said, adding: “There could be a cascading effect from some commercial aerospace. Again, it's at very, very small level, but it's still a factor.”

The Associated Press and Aaron Mehta contributed to this report.

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/03/09/coronavirus-shaking-up-americas-defense-industry/

Sur le même sujet

27 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

North American aviation product, support & services businesses that are remaining open during the COVID-19 crisis | Update April 15
At Skies, we've heard from a number of North American aviation product, support and services businesses that are doing their best to keep our industry moving during this global pandemic. To ensure that operators can still access the support they need, here is a non-exhaustive list of companies who are still open for business in some capacity. This list will be updated regularly. If you would like your company to be added to the list, please email news@skiesmag.com. Aero Aviation Ltd. Airborne Engines Ltd. Airbus Helicopters Canada Air Comm Corporation Air Georgian AirSuite Inc. AJW Technique Alpine Aerotech ALSIM Flight Training Solutions Altitude Aerospace Inc. Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. Apex Industries Inc. ARTEX Atlantic Avionics Aurora Jet Partners Avialta Helicopter Maintenance Ltd. Avianor Inc. Aviation Business Support Inc. Aviation Ground Fueling Technologies Avicor Aviation International Avmax Avstar Media AvroTecknik Aviation B.C. Aviation Council Bella Coola Air Ltd. Boeing Distribution Inc. Bridger Aerospace Group, LLC Brotech Precision CNC Inc. Cadorath Calm Air International Canadian Airports Council Canadian Air Parts, Ltd. Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Canadian Business Aviation Association Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace CanRep Inc. CanWest Aerospace Inc. CarteNav Solutions (Mission systems) Cascade Aerospace Custom Helicopters Cyclone Manufacturing DART Aerospace De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. Diamond Aircraft Industries Inc. (London, Ont.) Eagle Copters EFC Developments Elisen & Associés Inc. Essential Turbines, Inc. EuroTec Canada Exchange Petroleum Execaire Executive Flight Centre Fast Air – Air Charter Services Fast Air Jet Centre (FBO) FDC Aero Composites Field Aviation (Calgary and Toronto) Firkus Aircraft Inc. Fleet Canada Inc. Flight Data Systems Flightdeck Solutions Flightdocs FlightPath International FlightSafety Canada FlightSafety International Flying Colours Corp. FlyRite Accessory Overhauls Inc. Freedom Aero Service Inc. FreeFlight Systems Global Airparts Inc. Helicopter Accessory Service South, LLC. Helicopter Accessory Service, Inc. Heli-Lynx Helicopters Heli-One Heliproducts Industries Helitowcart Helitrades Heliwelders Canada Ltd. HM Aero Aviation Consulting Hope Aero Propeller & Components Inc. Hopkinson Aircraft Sales ICARUS Aero, Inc. Image Air IMP Aerospace Innotech Aviation JITbase KADEX Aero Supply Ltd. Keewatin Air (Aircraft maintenance and hangarage) KF Aerospace Latitude Technologies Lee Aerospace Levaero Aviation Longview Aviation Capital Marshall Aerospace Canada Inc. Maxcraft Avionics Ltd. Meridian Helicopters LLC Mid-Canada Mod Center Moncton Flight College Morningstar Air Express National Airlines Council of Canada National Helicopters Inc. Nav Canada Northwest Helicopters NovaJet Aviation Group Pacific Coastal Airlines (Emergency charter services and reduced WestJet Link flights) PAL Aerospace PAL Airlines PAL Aviation Services (Full-service FBO) Passport Helico (Commercial 702/703 and AMO) Perimeter Aviation Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. Precision Aero Components Premier Aviation Québec Inc. Priority 1 Air Rescue Professional Aircraft Accessories Professional Aircraft Associates Propair Inc. PropWorks Propeller Systems QualaTech Aero Consulting Ltd. Rocky Mountain Aircraft Rotorcorp, LLC Rotor Services Ltd. Sander Geophysics Limited (Air cargo) Sealand Aviation Ltd. Sealand Aerospace Ltd. Sealand Flight SEI Industries Select Helicopter Services Ltd. Signature Flight Support – Edmonton Skandia, Inc. Skyservice Business Aviation SKYTRAC Systems Springer Aerospace StandardAero Summit Aviation Sunwest Aviation Szabo Aviation International TEAAM Aeromedical Technisonic Industries Ltd. Tempest Aviation Thunder Airlines Tradewind International, LLC TrainingPort.net Transwest Helicopters Ltd. TSL Aerospace Technologies Ltd. Turbolyft Aerospace United Aero Group Upper Valley Aviation Ltd. Vanguard Air Care VIH Aerospace Viking Air Ltd. Vmo Solutions Voyageur Aviation Corp. Wasaya Airways Westcan Aircraft Sales & Salvage Ltd. Western Aircraft Western Propeller Westholme Graphics, Inc. Wilderness Helicopters WinAir We're all in this together! https://www.skiesmag.com/news/canadian-aviation-product-support-services-businesses-that-are-remaining-open-during-the-covid-19-crisis/
6 septembre 2018 | Local, Naval

Will a sixth Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship be built for the Royal Canadian Navy?
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN There is still no word on whether the Royal Canadian Navy will receive a sixth Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship. Irving Shipbuilding is building five AOPS. There is the possibility of building a sixth ship if costs are kept in line and that vessel could be constructed within the project budget. It is unclear if the financial state of the project would allow for a sixth vessel or whether the federal government would have to contribute more funding to allow for the construction of an additional AOPS. Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough has said she is open to the idea of additional AOPS being purchased for Canada but has provided few details. It is expected a decision on the sixth ship will be made in the coming months. “We are hopeful that the Government of Canada will construct a sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship at Halifax Shipyard and understand they will make a decision before the end of 2018.” Irving spokesman Sean Lewis told Defence Watch. As reported in Defence Watch recently the first AOPS will be delivered in the first week of October. There is a possibility one of the government politicians attending that ceremony might make an announcement then of the construction of a sixth ship. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/will-a-sixth-arctic-offshore-patrol-ship-be-built-for-the-royal-canadian-navy
5 février 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

Griffon life extension program to include upgraded sims
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will be seeking an upgrade to its CH-146 Griffon maintenance and flight training simulators as part of a life extension project for the multi-role utility helicopters. The first phase of the project, which is intended to keep the fleet of 85 Griffons flying until at least 2031, took off on Jan. 26 with the award of a $90 million contract to Bell Helicopter Textron Canada to develop and design options for the avionics systems, engines, integrated sensors and cockpit displays. A follow-on contract to install new systems and upgrade others is expected in 2022. Around the same time, the federal government will be inviting industry to respond to a request for proposals to modernize the Griffon simulators, according to a Department of National Defence spokesperson. “The upgrade to the flight simulation devices will be procured under a separate contract,” she said in an emailed response. The CH-146 simulators were built by CAE and delivered to the RCAF in the mid-1990s, shortly before the helicopters entered service between 1995 and 1997. CAE continues to provide in-service support. As part of what is being called the Griffon Limited Life Extension (GLLE) project, the RCAF wants to replace a number of the helicopter's avionics systems, including communications radios and cryptographic equipment, cockpit voice and flight recorders, the navigation systems, the automatic flight control systems, and the control display units. Obsolescence of critical components has been a problem for maintenance technicians for several years now. The design phase will also look at upgrades to the engines and to the sensor suite. The CH-146, which is based on the Bell 412, performs a variety of transport, close fire support and armed escort missions for tactical aviation and special operations forces. However, it has a top speed of around 260 kilometres per hour, well below that of the Boeing CH-147F Chinook that it escorts during missions such as Operation Presence in Mali. “These helicopters have performed extremely well over the years and with these new upgrades, they will continue to be a valuable asset that will allow our personnel to carry out missions and operations successfully well into the future,” RCAF commander LGen Al Meinzinger said in a statement. While aircrews would like more speed, more lift and bigger guns as part of any upgrade program, the current platform meets most of their needs, Col Travis Morehen, commanding officer of 1 Wing, the RCAF's tactical aviation headquarters in Kingston, Ont., told Skies in a recent interview. “I think we have done a really good job of exploiting what we can do with the Griffon,” said Morehen, who is currently serving as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces task force in Mali. “I don't think there are many nations that have been as agile and flexible with that type of platform as we have, whether it is the combat service support role for search and rescue, or precision insertion for special operations . . . or what we are doing in terms of utility lift, or providing, with the GAU-21 (.50 Cal machine gun), stand off fires.” Whatever the changes that are ultimately accepted as part of the initial design phase now being conducted by Bell, the helicopters will require upgraded flight training and maintenance simulators to match. The GLLE project, including modernized simulators, is expected to reach initial operational capability by 2024 and be fully operational by 2026. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/griffon-life-extension-program-to-include-upgraded-sims/

Toutes les nouvelles