Defence Aerospace News

Rolls-Royce is today announcing a new senior management structure as the first step in the wide-ranging restructuring announced on 12 November 2015. The move will simplify the organisation, drive operational excellence and reduce cost; ensuring Rolls-Royce is better placed to deliver long-term profitable growth. The current divisional structure of Aerospace and Land & Sea will end, removing a layer of senior management. From 1 January 2016, Rolls-Royce will operate as five market facing businesses, with the Presidents of Civil Aerospace, Defence Aerospace, Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems reporting directly to the Chief Executive. Our Civil Aerospace business will comprise of our merged Civil Large Engines (CLE) and our Civil Small and Medium Engines (CSME) businesses.

Britain has appointed agents to find a tenant for the country's historic Portsmouth dockyard, which is due to be vacated by BAE Systems by the end of the year as the defence contractor shuts its shipbuilding activities in the city. BAE's announcement in November last year, which will affect 940 jobs, signalled the potential end of more than 500 years of shipbuilding in Portsmouth on England's south coast. The company plans to consolidate operations at its yards in Glasgow, Scotland.

Rolls-Royce state that current trading is in line with expectations, and that their guidance for the full year is confirmed. Since the preliminary 2012 results in February, Rolls-Royce say they have won a US$1.6bn order from International Airlines Group (IAG) for Trent XWB engines, with long-term TotalCare® service support, to power 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft; they have also  signed multiple contracts to provide and service military transport engines for the US Air Force and US Marine Corps; in addition  construction has started on the state-of-the-art Core Manufacturing Facility in Derby that will produce reactor cores for the UK's current and future Submarines Programme.

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, announce the appointment of Lord Gold, who will report to the Ethics Committee of the Board. This appointment follows the previous announcement by Rolls-Royce that it has provided information to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) relating to concerns about bribery and corruption involving intermediaries in overseas markets. Lord Gold was a solicitor at Herbert Smith for 37 years, serving as its senior partner between 2005 and 2010. He is one of the UK's most senior litigators and has extensive experience working at the highest levels with corporations, governments and regulators around the world.

DCNS and its Norwegian partners deliver the fifth Skjold Fast Patrol Boat (FPB) to the Norwegian Navy. The six-boat Skjold program is led by a consortium comprising DCNS and two Norwegian contractors with DCNS acting as the combat system design authority and co- supplier. The naming ceremony of the new delivery Gnist recently took place at Umoe yard in Mandal. Skjold FPBs are designed specifically for maritime security and safety missions in Norway’s littoral waters. The combat system is tailored to demanding environments and reduced crewing.

The sale is expected to complete within the next few months, subject to closing conditions. About Tidal Generation Ltd. 1.    Rolls-Royce will sell TGL to Alstom UK Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alstom. 2.    TGL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc that is managed and reported in the Energy business segment. 3.    In September 2010 TGL’s 500kWe tidal stream turbine concept demonstrator unit was deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) offshore test site, off the Orkney Islands in Scotland, and generated over 200 megawatt hours of electricity supply to the grid. It was the first EMEC located project to receive Renewable Obligation Certificates.

The Skjold shipbuilding program is carried through by a consortium of three contractors with DCNS as the combat system design authority and co-supplier. DCNS works with Norwegian contractors Umoe Mandal and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, through the Skjold Prime Consortium. Skjold FPB's are designed specifically for maritime security and safety missions in Norway’s littoral waters. The combat system is tailored to demanding environments and reduced crewing. The communications and sensor suites are fully compatible with active participation in international and NATO-led operations.

QinetiQ won a £3.8m contract from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace following success in winning the Prime Contract from the Norwegian Defence Procurement Division, valued at almost £18m. The Prime Contract is to deliver an integrated Combat System Infrastructure, a new passive sonar system and an upgraded tactical simulator for Norway's six ULA Class submarines. QinetiQ will provide its DeRSCI open architecture software infrastructure and sonar processing applications together with…

Rolls-Royce has been selected by Lockheed Martin to provide MT30 gas turbine engines and waterjets for up to two ships of the Littoral Combat Ship program (LCS), the next generation of US Navy warship. LCS is being designed and built to improve the US Navy's operational capability in the littorals, or coastal waters. Rolls-Royce's selection as the engine and waterjet provider for the Lockheed Martin ships leaves it well positioned for the program. The Lockheed Martin ship design incorporates two Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbines driving four Rolls-Royce high-speed waterjets. The first vessel is due to be launched in December 2006 by Lockheed Martin. General Dynamics will also construct up to two ships for the same class.

Kongsberg Maritime AS (KM) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KDA) signed a contract for the new Finnish Navy (FN) Mine Hunting Vessel program. The contract has a value of $19.1m and includes HUGIN 1000 MR, EM 710 and HiPAP 500, three of each. KDA acts as an integrator of all hydroacoustic products into the tactical system (C2) delivered by Atlas Electronics, Germany. Intermarine, Italy is the shipbuilder and the prime contractor. The first ship is planned to be delivered to the FN in 2010. This is the first delivery from KM Subsea Division in Horten, where all product lines are represented in the same project, and fully integrated into a common system. The FN is the first navy in the world to fully integrate a complex mine hunting system like this.

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA), parent company to Kongsberg Norcontrol IT acquired Navtek AS. Navtek will merge with Kongsberg Norcontrol IT in order to consolidate assets and strengthen development and market presence. Navtek, based in Horten, Norway was established in 1980. Its core business is the provision of surveillance systems for the civilian and military markets, having delivered systems worldwide. Navtek employees will continue in the new organization under Kongsberg Norcontrol IT and activities will continue as usual during the merger, which is set to be complete by the end of the year.