Saab has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nammo and Nordic Shelter to support the ongoing GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) campaign.
The new agreement was announced during a signing 23 November 2021 in Oslo, Norway. Nammo will contribute with its expertise in rocket motor development and production as part of the GLSDB propulsion sub-system. Nordic Shelter brings the knowledge and experience needed for the development and production of a modular GLSDB launcher, based on a purpose built 20-foot ISO-container.
GLSDB is a long range, precision artillery system developed by Saab and Boeing. The system is based on Boeing’s air-launched Small Diameter Bomb, which has been in production since 2006, with more than 30 000 units shipped. GLSDB enables Small Diameter Bomb to be ground-launched from a wide variety of launchers and configurations.
The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] a $1.5 billion production contract for the next 18 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The contract includes eight aircraft for the U.S. Navy, six aircraft for the Republic of Korea Navy and four aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The Republic of Korea Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force acquired the aircraft through the Foreign Military Sales process and will receive the same P-8A Poseidon variant designed and produced for the U.S. Navy. The Royal New Zealand Air Force is expected to begin receiving aircraft in 2022 and the Republic of Korea Navy is expected to begin receiving aircraft in 2023.
The P-8 is a proven long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation airplane, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battle space.
The P-8 is militarized with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft is modified to include a bomb bay and pylons for weapons. It has two weapons stations on each wing and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refueling system.
With more than 254,000 flight hours to date, the P-8A Poseidon and P-8I variants patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; humanitarian; and search and rescue missions.
CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) – British Airways and Lufthansa abruptly suspended flights to Cairo from Saturday over security concerns, but giving no details about what may have prompted the move.
“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” British Airways said in a statement.
Lufthansa later said it had cancelled its flights to Cairo on Saturday from Munich and Frankfurt and will resume its flights on Sunday
British Airways, a unit of IAG, also said that it would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so. When asked for more details about why flights had been suspended and what security arrangements the airline was reviewing, a spokeswoman responded: “We never discuss matters of security.”
Three Egyptian airport security sources told Reuters that British staff had been checking security at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday. They gave no further details.
The British Foreign Office updated its travel advisory on Saturday to add a reference to the British Airways’ suspension, advising travellers affected to contact the airline.
Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement late on Saturday that it had contacted the British Embassy in Cairo which had confirmed that the decision to suspend the flights was not issued by Britain’s transport or foreign ministries.
The Egyptian ministry added that it will add more flights from Cairo to London starting on Sunday “to facilitate transporting passengers during this period.”
The British government has long advised against all but essential travel by air to and from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where a Russian passenger jet was bombed in 2015, but has not issued similar warnings against air travel to and from Cairo.
“There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK,” the British advisory says.
Tourism, a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt, has been recovering after tourist numbers dropped in the wake of a 2011 uprising and the 2015 bombing of the Russian jet, which killed all 224 people on board shortly after takeoff.
That attack, which was claimed by Islamic State, prompted Russia to halt all flights to Egypt for several years and a number of countries including Britain to cease flights to Sharm el Sheikh, which have yet to resume.
(Reporting by Lena Masri and Amina Ismail; editing by Peter Graff, Diane Craft and G Crosse)
