Airbus News

Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Sunday it would spend 405 million pounds ($514 million) to upgrade a missile system now being used by the Royal Navy to shoot down hostile drones over the Red Sea.The Sea Viper Air Defence system will be upgraded with missiles featuring a new warhead and software enabling it to counter ballistic missile threats, the MoD said in a statement.The contracts were awarded to the British division of MBDA, a missiles joint venture owned by Airbus…

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) said it has been tapped by Airbus to renew its entire fleet of chartered vessels for aircraft subassembly transport with three modern, low-emission roll-on / roll-off vessels, supported by wind-assisted propulsion.LDA announced Wednesday it has been commissioned to build, own and operate these new highly efficient vessels, slated for entry into service from 2026.Powered by a combination of six Flettner rotors—large, rotating cylinders that generate lift thanks to the wind…

Maritime clean technology company Silverstream Technologies announced it has signed an agreement in principle (AIP) with China Classification Society (CCS), the primary class society in China that serves the shipping, offshore and related industrial industries.This is Silverstream’s first agreement of this nature with a classification society. The AIP confirms that CCS has reviewed and verified the Silverstream System’s design drawings and provides an independent class verification of its generic system design.

Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said on Tuesday it would cut up to 2,500 jobs as its new chief executive seeks to build a more efficient business, the latest boss to attempt to revamp one of Britain's most prestigious engineering companies.Over the last decade, Rolls-Royce, whose engines and systems are used on the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 as well as ships, submarines and in power generation, has been through several restructurings, axing more than 13,000 jobs.Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over in January, is the latest CEO to try to tackle the company's inefficiencies.

An innovative kite system is being put through its paces on board a cargo ship crossing the Atlantic as wind propulsion takes off for commercial shipping as a means to reduce fuel burn and harmful environmental emissions.The system, called Seawing, has been developed by France-based Airseas, and is currently being trialed on the 154-meter ro-ro vessel Ville de Bordeaux, which is operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) and chartered by Airbus, Airseas' minority shareholder and launch customer.As the ship transports aircraft components between Europe and the United States…

I-6 F1, Inmarsat's most sophisticated commercial communications satellite\, has reached geostationary orbit and begun on-orbit testing, Carrying both L-band and Ka-band payloads, I-6 F1 will deliver a further enhancement of Inmarsat’s ELERA and Global Xpress networks respectively.The satellite, the size of a London double-decker bus, with a solar array ‘wingspan’ larger than a Boeing 767, was launched by MHI in Japan in December 2021. Since its launch, it has been moving towards geostationary orbit (GEO) approximately 36…

Belgian offshore installation company DEME said Friday that its 'revolutionary' new offshore installation vessel 'Orion' this week docked for the first time at the company's base near Vlissingen, in the Netherlands.The  DP3 installation vessel Orion is equipped with a 5,000-tonne crane, built to handle the next generation of offshore wind farm components."Orion’ is now being prepared for its first project… and for the official naming ceremony taking place soon!," DEME said in a social media post.Worth noting, the Orion's delivery is a belated one. Namely, in May 2020, an incident happened at crane maker Liebherr's yard in Rostock, Germany, when the Orion's giant crane collapsed onto the vessel during crane load tests, injuring several people.

Britain put in place new legal powers on Wednesday to prohibit maintenance on aircraft and ships belonging to specific sanctioned Russian oligarchs or their businesses.The government is acting in concert with Western allies to try to cripple the Russian economy as punishment for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It has targeted Russia's access to the international financial system, industries like shipping and defense, and wealthy elites close to President Vladimir Putin.Britain said…

A French ro-ro ship will be the first commercial vessel to trial a novel wind-assisted propulsion system designed to curb emissions from shippingAirseas said it has installed its Seawing system on the vessel Ville de Bordeaux owned and operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. The ship, which is chartered by Airbus to transport major aircraft components between France and the U.S., will deploy the 500-square meter Seawing on its monthly transatlantic journeys from January 2022, conducting…

Shipping group CMA CGM on Friday reported a surge in third-quarter earnings and said it expected an even stronger performance for the end of the year as intense demand kept freight rates high and container capacity stretched.French-based CMA CGM, one of the world's largest container lines, said net profit rose to $5.6 billion in the third quarter from $567 million in the same period last year, while core EBITDA earnings rose to $7.1 billion from $1.7 billion.An economic rebound following a coronavirus pandemic costs has disrupted supply chains and exacerbated logistics problems like ageing inf

Britain's Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for planes and ships, outlined plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050 through investing more in decarbonizing technologies and, in the short term, using more sustainable aviation fuel.Major companies are under increasing pressure from investors and climate change activists to report the emissions that result when customers use their products.Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East said that made decarbonizing a particularly "challenging…

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to confirm veteran government trade lawyer Katherine Tai as the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, putting her to work enforcing trade deals, confronting China’s trade practices and patching up ties with U.S. allies.The rare 98-0 vote for Tai, a Yale and Harvard-educated daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, reflects support from pro-labor Democrats, traditional free-trade Republicans and China hawks from both parties.Tai…

Shipping group CMA CGM on Friday announced the creation of an air freight division, backed by the acquisition of four cargo planes, as it continues to expand its non-maritime activities.The new unit, called CMA CGM Air Cargo, will use the four Airbus A330-200F cargo planes acquired by CMA CGM along with partnerships with airlines to develop worldwide coverage, the group said in a statement.The price of the planes, which originally went into service between 2014 and 2016, was not disclosed.CMA CGM is due to take delivery of the planes next month, a spokesman added.French-based CMA CGM, one of t

Most people these days are aware of risks inherent in our increasingly electronic maritime industry. There is malware, ransomware, and spear phishing to name a few. But a new one has been recently identified – cosmic rays.Cosmic rays are high-energy protons and atomic nuclei which move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the sun, from stars outside of the solar system, and from distant galaxies. They are capable of penetrating and passing through almost any material.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri's planned acquisition of state-controlled French rival Chantiers de l'Atlantique to create a European "Airbus of the Seas" is facing collapse barring last-minute political intervention from Paris or Rome.With the offer due to expire in two days after repeated deadline extensions over competition concerns, the deal is still awaiting European antitrust approval in a market that has been completely transformed by the coronavirus pandemic."There is no news on our side…

The article was updated to include a statement by a Deme spokesperson who said that the Orion delivery would be delayed following the accident.Following last week's crane collapse on offshore installation vessel Orion at Liebherr's yard in Rostock in Germany, Liebherr has said that the preliminary findings showed that a broken crane hook was the reason behind the accident.As previously reported, the accident happened last Saturday during the overload test of Liebherr's offshore heavy lift crane HLC 295000 aboard Deme's recently delivered offshore wind turbine installation vessel. The crane collapsed and was severely damaged.In a statement on Tuesday…

A giant crane collapsed on Saturday on Deme Offshore's flagship offshore vessel Orion at Liebherr's yard in Rostock, Germany, during crane load tests.Deme said Saturday that "a few persons suffered minor injuries." Deme Offshore said: "A serious accident has occurred today on board of offshore installation vessel ‘Orion 1’ at the occasion of and during crane load tests. The vessel is under construction and owned by COSCO (QIDONG) OFFSHORE CO., LTD. The vessel is moored at the quayside at the Liebherr construction yard in Rostock…

Aerospace solutions provider Airbus Defense and Space has upgraded its digital maritime service to detect and track vessels around the globe.First launched in 2018, OceanFinder leverages Airbus’ advanced constellation of optical and radar satellites, combined with real-time global Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, and the latest in automated analytics, to support a broad range of critical applications across defense and security, shipping, oil and gas, and insurance markets.OceanFinder’s latest updates introduce a number of innovative features – extending the service’s capabilities in several key areas.From today, users will benefit from enhanced imagery and AIS data correlation to identify the precise location of a non-responding vessel in near real-time.

UK engineering company JGC Engineering and Technical Serviceshas, on behalf of Siemens, completed the construction of high voltage equipment containers for the Moray East offshore substation platforms."The Moray East offshore windfarm project completed its first fabrication milestone as the Thurso SME engineering firm finalised work on the containers which will be fitted in the three offshore substation platforms," said a press release from Siemens.JGC fabricated eight of 12 containers at its site in Thurso and have also supported Siemens with other offshore projects in the UK.The containers’ total length, height and volume are larger than an Airbus A380 aircraft which highlights the impressive feat Siemens and JGC have completed together.

The decarbonization drive is gearing up to be the defining issue faced by the shipping sector in the coming decades and the industry is searching for low carbon and zero emissions technologies that will deliver on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial strategy of reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050. One family of technologies that is seeing an upsurge of interest in the industry is wind-assist and primary wind propulsion solutions. Today the Paris headquartered…

French family-owned maritime transportation group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is venturing into wind-powered shipping as the group sees the benefits of operational savings and a need for decarbonisation.LDA Group has become the latest member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to help further the development of these primary renewable solutions.LDA President, Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, stated: "we are very excited by the development of wind solutions as a key answer to the decarbonisation challenges we are facing today and it is only natural for us to join the International Windship Association in its drive to further develop these technologies."LDA Group owns…

Inmarsat will introduce two new satellite payloads dedicated to the Arctic region in a partnership with Space Norway, and its subsidiary Space Norway HEOSAT.The new Global Xpress (GX) payloads support the rapidly growing demand among both commercial and government users for seamless, reliable, high-speed mobile broadband services in the Arctic and throughout the world. They specifically address rising demand for high-speed mobile broadband Fleet Xpress service capability from the merchant shipping…

"Koselig" is a Norwegian adjective used to describe situations that give a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation. The NorShipping exhibition and conference, one of the largest in northern Europe, could definitely be described as koselig. Occurring in Oslo, Norway between June 4-7, 2019, the conference featured close to 1,000 exhibitors from around the world. With the prominently featured Blue Economy Hall, terms such as marine sustainability and environmental ocean awareness held the center stage at a number of the events. In true Norwegian fashion, most of the major press announcements were delivered in semi-intimate gathers with copious amounts coffee by maritime CEOs and VPs who enjoyed being called by their first names.