Defense Group News

Italian defense group Leonardo is close to finalizing a deal to sell its submarine unit Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) to shipbuilder Fincantieri, Leonardo's chief executive said on Monday."We are talking days, not months," Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters in the port city of Genoa, in remarks confirmed by a spokesperson.The deal, expected to be worth between 200 million and 300 million euros ($213 million-$320 million), would be part of Fincantieri's broader strategy to grow through acquisitions and focus more on the fast-growing defence sector and strengthen its posit

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri is in talks with Leonardo to buy the defense group's submarine unit Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (Wass), several newspapers reported on Wednesday.Spokespersons for Fincantieri and Leonardo both declined to comment.The acquisition would have a value of between 200 and 300 million euros ($217-$326 million), Corriere della Sera and financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.The move by Fincantieri would be part of the group's broader strategy to grow non-organically and focus more on the defence sector…

EDGE Group, a United Arab Emirates-based advanced technology and defense group, and Fincantieri, one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, have entered into a term sheet aimed at creating a joint venture (JV) that will focus on the manufacturing of a broad range of sophisticated naval vessels.EDGE will hold a 51% stake in the venture, which has a commercial pipeline valued at approximately $32.4 billion (€30 billion), with management direction provided by Fincantieri.The Abu Dhabi-based JV will be awarded prime rights to non-NATO orders…

Tech company Leidos was recently awarded a new task order by Naval Sea Systems Command to manage, operate and maintain the U.S. Navy’s Overlord and medium unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The single-award task order has a one-year base period of performance and two one-year options. The task order has a maximum value of approximately $95 million if all options are exercised.“Leidos is leading a new era of naval operations,” said Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president. “The Leidos team has unmatched experience and expertise in autonomous vessel design and operations…

Germany's second-largest defense group Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) wants to play a leading role in consolidating the German and European shipyard industry, its new Chief Executive Officer told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag."If the road to a European giant is still too difficult, a German champion could be formed first," Oliver Burkhard was quoted by the newspaper as saying.Burkhard said a merger, for example, could be formed with smaller German rivals Luerssen and German…

A consortium formed by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG and Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA signed a deal on Thursday to deliver four frigates to Brazil’s navy between 2025 and 2028, the companies said in a statement.The contract signed in Rio de Janeiro is part of Brazil’s drive to modernize its navy so it can patrol off-shore resources in the Atlantic, such as Brazil’s vast pre-salt oil reserves.The companies did not disclose the price tag. The Brazilian navy website said the four-ship program will cost about $2 billion.Last year…

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday dismissed press reports saying that the government was considering a possible merger between state-owned defense group Leonardo and shipbuilder Fincantieri."We are absolutely not thinking about mergers. There is nothing of the kind, nothing on the table. I've been informed about these press reports that quote government sources. I absolutely reject these rumors," Conte told reporters on the sideline of an event.Reporting by Lisa Di Giuseppe

Brazilian federal police are investigating potential irregularities in a military program that aims to build a nuclear-powered submarine in partnership with France by 2023, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported on Wednesday. Folha said police searched for documents that could prove their suspicions of fraud in the program. The search was part of a wider probe that led to the arrests on Tuesday of two executives involved in building a nuclear power plant for state-run utility Eletrobras. Federal police did not respond to a request for comment on whether they were investigating the submarine program. The newspaper did not say how it had obtained the information.

Moog Inc. Space and Defense Group has supplied the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) with a new, rugged camera system for launch and recovery of the Alvin submarine aboard the research vessel Atlantis II. The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command mandates that the crew of Atlantis II be able to see the latch pin, which is part of the launch and recovery system (LARS) for use with Alvin. When WHOI upgraded and returned its Alvin submarine to service, the submarine’s size obscured the view of the latch pin from the “doghouse…

SRA International, Inc. say they will continue to provide mission-critical support for the U.S. Department of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) Information Technology (IT) Afloat Operations. The three-year contract is valued at $56 million, if all options are exercised. MSC is responsible for a variety of missions, including the provision of strategic sealift for the Department of Defense, direct fleet support to the Navy combatant fleet, and conducting special missions involving the operation of ships for Department of Defense components. The MSC Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4S) Directorate (N6) is responsible for MSC C4 systems, encompassing worldwide IT networks and communications.

The European Commission has authorized the proposed acquisition of the German submarine producer Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) by the American banking company, Bank One Corporation. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the operation will not create anti-competitive effects, as the transaction will not result in any overlaps between the parties' activities in the European Union. The Commission's careful investigation has also failed to establish any links between Bank One and any US defense group with respect to the acquisition of HDW nor were there any indications that other companies were involved in the financing of the acquisition.

Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers last Thursday promised the government would give "fullest consideration" to Govan shipyard's bid for a defense contract for roll-on roll-off ferries. The government is in a precarious position with the contracts, stuck between selecting a shipbuilder in accordance with EU directives regarding fair competition and subsidies, balanced against the expected political pull to place the contract with a national yard. As the Scottish shipyard's future hangs in the balance, Byers said no decision had been made on the Ministry of Defense (MoD) contract but added the government was conscious of the importance of the order. "No decisions have been taken over the award of future MoD orders which could affect this yard.

Swedish defense group Saab AB said it understood the Australian government wished to negotiate about Saab's stake in the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), though it had not been officially informed. Saab acquired the 49 percent ASC stake during a consolidation of the Swedish defense industry last year. As part of the shake-up Saab intends to transfer the holding to Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), a major producer of conventionally powered submarines which now controls the Swedish Kockums naval shipyard. "We understand the Australian government has taken a decision to negotiate with us about the ASC stake, which they have a pre-emptive right to do," Saab senior executive vice-president Lars Josefsson said.

French defense group Thomson-CSF plans to bid for British warship builder Vosper Thorneycroft, which in turn is preparing a bid for U.K.-based Hunting Engineering, according to press reports. Officials of Thomson-CSF, which recently acquired defense electronics company Racal Plc, said the company could bid up to 15 pounds ($22.46) per share, valuing Vosper at $754.6 million. The takeover bid, which is reportedly welcomed by the British government, would ensure Thomson-CSF a slice of a multi-billion dollar contract to build new frigates for Britain's Royal Navy. Vosper was reportedly mulling a bid for the defense arm of British-based Hunting Engineering, a maker of weapons integration systems for Apache attack helicopters along with engineering business in the oil industry.

Vosper Thornycroft Holdings Plc hopes to move its shipbuilding operations to Portsmouth from Southampton, including its work on the Royal Navy's new destroyer. The company said it had compared the merits of Portsmouth Naval Base and its current shipyard at Woolston, Southampton and that greater space at Portsmouth gave it clear advantages. "Portsmouth is our preferred location, but any move will be subject to successful negotiations with the Ministry of Defense for the lease of land and securing the short-term and long-term shipbuilding contracts that we need," Vosper chief executive Martin Jay said in a statement. Any short-term work would continue to be carried out at Woolston until 2003.

Vosper Thornycroft Holdings Plc said on Tuesday it may have to make up to 650 people redundant due to a shortage of short-term shipbuilding production work. Vosper said the redundancy notices would not take effect until early next year and would only come into force if the company was unable to secure additional work. "We are taking this action as a precautionary measure. No company can keep people employed indefinitely on maintenance and other temporary work without damaging its overall prospects," Chief Executive Martin Jay said in a statement. Vosper's current seven-ship contract for Royal Navy minehunters was now nearing an end, and was insufficient to provide work for the 1,200 workforce before the beginning of a new order, for Type 45 destroyers, announced three months ago.

South Africa said it would not go for the wholesale sell-off of ports as they were regarded as strategic assets. Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe said that the government had developed a ports policy to be released early next year. "Government does not envisage a wholesale privatization of ports. Instead, private operators will have a role in South African parts by way of concessions and public-private partnerships," said Radebe. South Africa has embarked on a process to accelerate the restructuring and partial privatization of state-owned assets -- focusing on defense group Denel, transport parastatal Transnet, telecommunications group Telkom and power utility Eskom.

Rolls Royce, Northrop Grumman Win UK Navy Contract Aero-engine giant Rolls-Royce Plc and U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman have been awarded a $121.7 million contract to supply gas turbine packages for the UK's Royal Navy. The contract, awarded by British defense group BAE Systems Plc, will see the two companies supply 12 WR-21 marine gas turbine packages for the first six ships of a new fleet of Royal Navy defense destroyers.

Swedish defense group Celsius announced that it was merging unit Kockums Naval Systems with Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) to create a leading global player in submarines as the defense sector consolidates. Celsius signed a contract with Babcock Borsig and HDW parent company Preussag, Germany's tourism and industrial group, to form a European shipbuilding company. "The merger of these two shipbuilding companies creates the world's strongest builder of submarines, a company with the most advanced technology and a commanding position in the conventional (non-nuclear) submarine sector," Celsius said. Under the agreement, Preussag will sell 25 percent plus one of its HDW shares to Celsius. At the same time, HDW will acquire all shares in Kockums Naval Systems from Celsius.

Swedish defense group Celsius announced that it was merging unit Kockums Naval Systems with Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) to create a leading global player in submarines as the defense sector consolidates. Celsius signed a contract with Babcock Borsig and HDW parent company Preussag, Germany's tourism and industrial group, to form a European shipbuilding company.

Union chiefs from Glasgow's Govan shipyard met British defense ministry officials to press their case for winning a $400 million contract that could save the yard. Union officials said a consortium that includes the yard, recently sold by Kvaerner to U.K. defense group BAE SYSTEMS, is one of four finalists for a contract to build six RoRo equipment transport ferries. Union leaders met with the defense procurement minister to argue why the work should go to Govan - a move that politicians say could safeguard up to 1,000 jobs. Despite the political pressure - and the fact two other bidders are foreign - the MoD has said it wants to ensure maximum value for money and that U.K. shipyards will have to ensure their competitiveness.

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. has completed its purchase of Nautronix Defense Group, the mine and anti-submarine weapons systems maker, for $65m in cash plus a possible $6m more, depending on financial performance. Nautronix will be renamed L-3 Communications Nautronix Holdings Inc., and will add about $25m to L-3's estimated sales this year. Source: Reuters