Industry News
Belgium Selects General Dynamics PIRANHA Vehicles for $604 Million Armored Infantry Vehicle Program
The Belgian government has selected the PIRAHNA IIIC 8x8 light armored vehicle, produced by MOWAG GmbH, a part of General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems, for its Armored Infantry Vehicle (AIV) program. AIV will serve as the cornerstone of the transformation of the Belgian Army into a lighter, more deployable, lethal, survivable and sustainable force. The program, which includes a maximum of 242 vehicles and related logistics support, has an approximate value of US$604 million (€500 million) if all options are exercised. General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics.
The PIRAHNA vehicles will be equipped in seven variants: Infantry Carrier, Armored Personnel Carrier with Medium Caliber Gun, Direct Fire, Command Post, Engineering, Ambulance and Recovery. Delivery of the first 138 vehicles will occur from 2007 to 2012; additional vehicles could be delivered from 2012 to 2015 if all options are exercised.
Key requirements for the AIV program included on- and off-road mobility, crew comfort and safety, vehicle versatility, a high level of protection for the vehicle crews against mines and ballistic weapons, and integration of various weapon stations, electronic warning and communication systems. The PIRAHNA offers high commonality and compatibility within the AIV fleet and with other vehicles of the Belgian Army and NATO countries. More than 3000 PIRANHA III-based vehicles are in service with or in production for NATO and European countries Denmark, Spain, USA, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland.
MOWAG GmbH of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, develops, designs and manufactures technologically advanced special vehicles for military use.
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US Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin $491 Million Contract
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for US$491 million to build a third spacecraft for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (Advanced EHF) program constellation. Advanced EHF satellites will provide global, highly secure, protected, survivable communications for all warfighters serving under the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Advanced EHF system is the successor to the Milstar system, whose capabilities were cited by the Department of Defense as essential to the U.S.-led coalition’s success in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Advanced EHF will provide greater total capacity and offer channel data rates higher than that of Milstar communications satellites. The higher data rates permit transmission of tactical military communications such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.
Development of the first Advanced EHF satellite is progressing on schedule. The team recently delivered the spacecraft core structure to Lockheed Martin's Mississippi Space & Technology Center for integration with its propulsion subsystem. The second spacecraft is close behind in the production flow.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the Advanced EHF system prime contractor and is providing a militarized version of its flight-proven A2100 spacecraft bus and the mission control segment, which will consolidate Milstar and Advanced EHF satellite control and communication resource planning into a single, modernized mission control system.
Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, Calif., is the payload integrator and provider of the payload processors, nulling antennas, the inter-satellite crosslinks, RF antenna equipment, and phased array antennas. Advanced EHF satellites will also feature an electric propulsion system, provided by Aerojet of Sacramento, Calif.
The Advanced EHF program is managed by the MILSATCOM Joint Program Office, located at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
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Alcatel Alenia Space Starts the ExoMars Mission Design
In the frame of a contract signed with the European Space Agency (ESA), Alcatel Alenia Space has started the ExoMars mission design. The ExoMars mission aims at sending a lander rover to Mars in order to find traces of past or present life. This contract, worth about 13 million Euros (US$15.7 million), calls for one year mission design work up to the preliminary design review including the definition of the main system elements of the mission.
ExoMars is the first robotic exploration mission to be developed within the European space exploration program Aurora. Aurora objectives are to create and implement a European long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system as well as to search for life beyond the Earth.
The ExoMars program, commissioned by ESA for a budget of about 600 million Euros, is one of the most important exploration missions in the near future. Scheduled to be launched from Kourou in 2011, the ExoMars mission will enable exobiology studies. The mission will collect new information on Mars environment to prepare future human explorations.
In the scope of the mission design work, Alcatel Alenia Space consolidates the mission objectives, defines the system elements, as well as the Rover Operations Control System and Mission Exploitation System concept.
Having a successful track record in this domain, Alcatel Alenia Space is ready to take on this challenge due to a number of complementary skills, from the ability to coordinate international alliances in long-term endeavours, to the assembly, integration and testing of scientific probes, through the proven expertise in the technologies needed for space astronomy and interplanetary missions with landings including deep space telecommunications.
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French Ministry of Defense Selects Rockwell Collins Link 22 Modem
The French Ministry of Defense has selected the Rockwell Collins Link 22 Modem Signal Processor Controller (SPC). The contract, valued at US$500,000, calls for Rockwell Collins to deliver three Modem SPC units to the French MOD Link 22 Integration Facility.
Link 22 (also referred as NILE) is the next-generation NATO Tactical Data Link, and is also referred to as the NATO Improved Link Eleven (NILE). Link 22 is a multi-national development program that will produce a "J" series message standard in a Time Domain Multiple Access architecture over extended ranges.
The Rockwell Collins Link 22 Modem SPC is the only one in the world with HF fixed frequency along with UHF fixed and frequency hopping capabilities.
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Intel First to Demonstrate Working 45nm Chips
Representatives of Intel Corporation announced on January 25 that the company has become the first company to reach an important milestone in the development of 45 nanometer (nm) logic technology. Intel has produced what are believed to be the first fully functional SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips using 45nm process technology, its next– generation, high–volume semiconductor manufacturing process.
Achieving this milestone means Intel is on track to manufacture chips with this technology in 2007 using 300mm wafers, and continues the company’s focus on pushing the limits of Moore’s Law, by introducing a new process generation every two years.
Today, Intel leads the industry in volume production of semiconductors using 65nm process technology, with two manufacturing facilities making 65nm chips in Arizona and Oregon and two more coming online this year in Ireland and Oregon.
Intel’s 45nm process technology will allow chips with more than five times less leakage power than those made today. This will improve battery life for mobile devices and increase opportunities for building smaller, more powerful platforms.
The 45nm SRAM chip has more than 1 billion transistors. Though not intended as an Intel product, the SRAM demonstrates technology performance, process yield and chip reliability prior to ramping processors and other logic chips using the 45nm manufacturing process. It is a key first step in the march toward high–volume manufacturing of the world’s most complex devices.
In addition to the manufacturing capabilities of its D1D facility in Oregon, where the initial 45nm development efforts are underway, Intel has announced two high–volume fabs under construction to manufacture chips using the 45nm process technology: Fab 32 in Arizona and Fab 28 in Israel.
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Boeing Signs Production Preparation Agreement with the Netherlands Ministry of Defense
Representatives of The Boeing Company announced Tuesday a production preparation agreement with the Defense Materiel Organization of the Dutch ministry of Defense for the possible purchase of Chinook helicopters. The agreement provides for the planning and long-lead activities that will support production and will include the procurement of new CH-47F Chinooks with an option for additional aircraft and modernization kits for the current fleet of 11 Dutch CH-47Ds.
Boeing and the Defense Materiel Organization intend to execute the full production contract in 2006, with aircraft deliveries planned to begin in 2008. The new aircraft will feature an improved Honeywell cockpit configuration, improved situational awareness and survivability features along with a modernized airframe. The RNLAF Chinook fleet serves with the 298 Squadron based at Soesterberg Air Force Base and supports the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations.
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Raytheon Company Appoints S. Michael Scheeringa Chief Executive Officer, Flight Options
Raytheon Company announced on Jan. 26 the appointment of S. Michael Scheeringa to the position of chief executive officer at Flight Options, the company's fractional ownership entity. From February 2004, Scheeringa served as Flight Options' chief operating officer and has served as acting chief executive officer since November 2004.
Prior to joining Flight Options, Scheeringa served as US Airways' vice president, Express Division. At US Airways, he had previously held a series of officer-level positions managing the areas of customer service, operations and corporate planning, in addition to overseeing the MetroJet and the US Airways Shuttle divisions. He has more than 17 years of experience in the aviation industry. Scheeringa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in transportation and logistics management from Arizona State University.
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Flight Options, LLC offers the complete spectrum of programs from fractional ownership to leasing to JetPASS membership and has received the prestigious ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating twice. The Flight Options fleet of approximately 200 aircraft includes the world's largest fleets of Beechjet 400A's and Legacy Executive aircraft. Flight Options' fleet consists of the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP, Hawker 800XP, Citation X and Legacy.
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NEC Electronics, Sony, and Toshiba Announce Joint Development of 45-nanometer System LSI Process Technologies
Representatives of NEC Electronics Corporation, Sony Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation announced Wednesday that the companies have agreed to jointly develop system LSI process technologies for the 45-nanometer (nm) generation.
As applications in the digital consumer, mobile, and communications arenas evolve, there are greater requirements for advanced system LSI technologies to achieve higher performance and functionality, such as high-speed data processing, as well as lower power consumption and smaller chip dimensions. The miniaturization of process technology to meet these requirements is becoming increasingly critical and complex.
Meeting these requirements for leading edge system LSI process technology development requires a tremendous investment of development resources. Many semiconductor companies worldwide are working together with the goal of more efficient development.
In February 2004, Sony and Toshiba announced their collaboration on 45-nm system LSI process technology development, and have since proceeded with technology development based at Toshiba's Advanced Microelectronics Center in Yokohama, Japan. The results of their efforts have been reported and recognized at industry symposia. Likewise, NEC Electronics and Toshiba announced their agreement to jointly develop 45-nm process technology in November 2005, and have been in discussions to decide the details of that collaboration.
As a result of today's agreement, NEC Electronics' 45-nm development team will join Sony and Toshiba's ongoing work on 45-nm technology development at the Advanced Microelectronics Center. By combining the three companies' development resources, NEC Electronics, Sony, and Toshiba will raise development efficiency and further accelerate the pace of development, with the aim of establishing 45-nm system LSI process technology quickly.
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Cisco Appoints Michael Capellas to Board of Directors
Representatives of Cisco Systems announced Tuesday the appointment of Michael Capellas, former president and CEO of MCI, to its board of directors, effective January 31, 2006.
Capellas joined MCI as chairman and CEO in 2002 and became president and CEO in March of 2004. Capellas left MCI as planned in early January 2006 upon the company's acquisition by Verizon Communications Inc. Previously, he held multiple CXO level positions at Compaq including serving as chairman and CEO from July 1999-May 2002, until Compaq merged with Hewlett Packard , at which time he became president of the combined company. Capellas also spent 16 years at Schlumberger Ltd., holding a variety of management positions around the world. In addition, he has also held senior-level positions at SAP America and Oracle Corp. Capellas is a graduate of Kent State University where he earned a B.B.A. degree.
With the election of Capellas, Cisco's board now consists of 12 members, including: Carol A. Bartz, chairman and CEO, Autodesk, Inc.; M. Michele Burns, former CFO, Mirant Corporation; Larry R. Carter, senior vice president, Cisco Systems, Inc.; John T. Chambers, president and CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.; John L. Hennessy, Ph.D., president, Stanford University; Richard M. Kovacevich, chairman and CEO, Wells Fargo & Company; Roderick C. McGeary, chairman, Bearing Point, Inc.; James C. Morgan, chairman, Applied Materials, Inc.; John P. Morgridge, chairman of the board, Cisco Systems, Inc.; Steven M. West, founder and partner, Emerging Company Partners; and Jerry Yang, co-founder, chief Yahoo! and director, Yahoo! Inc.
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James W. Owens Elected to IBM Board of Directors
The IBM board of directors elected James W. Owens, chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., to the board effective March 1, 2006.
Owens joined Caterpillar in 1972 as a corporate economist and subsequently held various management positions, including chief financial officer. In 1995 he was named group president, and in 2003 he became vice chairman. Owens assumed his current position in 2004.
Owens holds a doctorate in economics from North Carolina State University. He is a director of Alcoa Inc., and he also serves on the board of the Institute of International Economics and is a member of the Manufacturing Council, both in Washington, D.C.
When Owens joins the IBM board on March 1, 2006, the board will have a total of 14 members.
