BAE, Airbus Selling Assets | Navy Winces, Asks to be Thrown into F-18 Briar Patch | Army Saves Time Not Re-Inventing Fire Control

Apr 27, 2015 03:07 UTC

BAE Systems is looking to see what it might get were it to sell its services division. The parts for sale generate between one and two billion dollars per year and employ almost 8,000 people, a ratio about on par with non-technical professional services industries. The BAE divisions, however, involve technical, mission and IT support services.
Similarly, Airbus is reportedly shopping around its defense electronics business as part of its plan announced in 2014 to raise cash by selling non-core assets. Its hopes for cash raised are also optimistic, having asked an investment bank to organize a sale that would realize ten times EBITDA.
The Russian military is doing the Dance of the Seven Veils, almost showing off a series of new armor assets, said to included AFVs, main battle tanks, self-propelled artillery and an APC. The Ministry of Defense appears to be trying to build up suspense leading up to the annual May 9 parade in Moscow, where the vehicles are expected to figure prominently.

The Navy is floating a trial balloon that it might procure a couple dozen more F-18s due to F-35 delays. The Navy has been especially impacted by the delays as its variant, the F-35C VTOL version. Running a couple squadrons as F-18 shops would also save the Navy between one and two billion dollars, which starts to add up.
In a comment that will bemuse F-35 critics, a Chinese military expert scoffed at suggestions that China adapt its F-35 knockoff, the J-31, to add VTOL capabilities. Song Xinzhi reportedly poo-pooed the idea, indicating that it would be too expensive, impractical, cause heat problems and foist unreasonable range limitations.
The Army is proud of its having re-used a common fire control system across various artillery and related systems. Of seven systems employing the MFCS since 2000, most saw between a year and three years of quickened deployment for having foregone a custom fire control system.
Boeing took a flyer and privately financed the production of 10 C-17A Globemasters. With a series of Commonwealth countries expressing interest, five are still left unsold.
General Dynamics NASSCO will get $24.2 million – and potentially $96.3 million – for maintaining and upgrading Littoral Combat Ships running out of San Diego.

Although China has already transferred the technology to Pakistan so that the junior partner in their military relationship can produce the JF-17 Thunder fighter, China has agreed to provide Pakistan an additional 50 jets over the next three years and 110 in total. Pakistan reportedly cannot make them fast enough to keep up with military demand.