Rapid Fire September 25, 2012: BAE, EADS at International Crossroads

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Chinese authorities officially confirmed [government source, in Chinese] today that they commissioned the Liaoning (formerly the USSR’s unfinished Riga then Varyag), their first aircraft carrier.

• If there are American opponents to a BAE/EADS merger, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) might be the vehicle for their opposition, with a longstanding ongoing battle between Boeing and Airbus at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the backdrop, reports Reuters. The French business press has run columns both in favor and against the deal [both links in French] while it remains unclear what the French authorities want.

• Meanwhile the German press highlights the national tensions among European governments that make the deal such a tricky proposition: Die Welt | Süddeutsche Zeitung [both in German]. Thomas Wiegold (a German journalist who covers the defense beat) notes [in German] another dimension that may further complicate international calculations: China’s renewed demand last week that the EU lifts its arms embargo. But no US administration, regardless of the party in power, would let a European giant emerge with permission to sell to China while maintaining a significant business in the US.

• The US GAO reviewed data on the US Navy’s material readiness during the past four years but could not find conclusive trends after cross-referencing INSURV, DRRS-N and casualty reports sources.

• The Pentagon’s 2012 Performance-Based Logistics awards were awarded to [PDF] the C-17 Globemaster Integrated Sustainment Partnership, the P-3 AN/APS-137D(V)5 radar, and DLA’s Industrial Prime Vendor, Depot Consumables Support.

• Heidi Shyu’s nomination as the Army’s acquisition chief, blocked for several months by two Republican senators, can now proceed.

• Rockwell Collins appointed Kelly Ortberg as its President, effective as of yesterday.

• The Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian government is about to unveil a military procurement policy that will prioritize local firms.