July 28, 2023 – Supported by Sweden and the United Kingdom, Saab (OTC: SAABF) has today submitted its proposal for the replacement of Netherland’s current submarines. The proposal comprises four advanced Expeditionary Submarines with the latest innovations and technologies and includes a cooperation with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group.
Saab’s offered solution is based on a successful, proven and future-proof design. It will incorporate the latest capabilities and technologies, whilst its truly modular design will allow for new technologies as they evolve to ensure relevance for many years to come.
Saab and Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group have cooperated since 2015 and the offer to build submarines to replace the Dutch Walrus-class is a balanced cooperation between the Netherlands and Sweden.
The C718 is an advanced Expeditionary Submarine that offers an unsurpassed level of endurance and exceeds the Royal Netherlands Navy needs for long-distance operations, sufficient accommodation, crew comfort and increased weapon payload capability.
Sweden, through Saab’s business area Kockums, has a long tradition in producing world class submarines. Four nations are currently operating submarines and submarine technology designed by Saab’s business area Kockums; Sweden, Australia, Japan and Singapore.
On the heels of the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) formal submission of a F-35 proposal to the Swiss government in support of Switzerland’s New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) competition, Airbus and Germany have now followed suit.
You can view the details of the Airbus and Germany submission below!
The U.S. government and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) submitted an F-35 proposal to the Swiss government in support of Switzerland’s New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) competition.
The F-35 proposal is a total package offering that includes up to 40 F-35A aircraft, a sustainment solution tailored to Swiss autonomy requirements, and a comprehensive training program.
The offering includes an industrial package providing Swiss industry substantial F-35 work opportunities. Should the F-35 be selected as the new fighter for Switzerland, this industrial work would take place in all Swiss regions. Swiss industry has the opportunity to compete for direct production of components for use on all F-35s produced, sustainment projects focused on supporting the Swiss Air Force and enhancing Swiss autonomy, and cyber security projects directly related to the F-35.
The offer uses the F-35 Global Support Solution for sustainment to ensure Switzerland benefits from the European F-35 economies of scale to realize lower sustainment costs for the Swiss Air Force. It also includes a six-month spares package to ensure the Swiss Air Force has the ability to conduct autonomous operations, if needed. Lockheed Martin is also offering an option for the assembly of four aircraft in Switzerland to ensure the Swiss Air Force and Swiss industry gain an understanding of how to maintain the F-35 airframe and its advanced capabilities for the life of the program.
“We are confident that our F-35 offer is the best and most affordable solution for the Swiss NFA competition,” said Greg Ulmer, F-35 Program vice president and general manager. “We are offering the only 5th generation fighter at the cost of 4th generation aircraft while offering Switzerland an aircraft that will protect Swiss sovereignty for decades to come.”
To date, the F-35 has been selected by 13 nations and operates from 26 bases worldwide, with nine nations operating F-35s on their home soil. There are more than 585 F-35s in service today, with more than 1,190 pilots and 9,750 maintainers trained on the aircraft.
Today, Boeing [NYSE: BA] submitted its offer to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) competition, proposing a design that leverages the company’s more than 60-year track record and expertise in strategic missile and weapon systems.
“Boeing’s NGI proposal delivers unmatched performance, affordability and reliability for the nation and the warfighter,” said Norm Tew, Missile and Weapon Systems vice president and general manager, and Huntsville site senior executive. “Building upon our prior investments and proven technologies, our innovative proposal offers a creative, compelling and game-changing technical approach to outpace, out-innovate, deter and defeat rapidly evolving advanced threats.”
If selected, Boeing will utilize its proven capabilities along with a best-of-industry team to ensure its unique offering is delivered to the warfighter on time.
“Boeing is well-positioned to deliver innovative solutions that greatly expand this key missile defense capability, ever focused on supporting the warfighter,” said Tew. “We are leveraging our unparalleled mission knowledge to design, develop and deliver a low-risk, highly-effective solution for the MDA.”
The NGI will be used to maintain ready deterrence and ensure the continued protection of the U.S. homeland from intercontinental ballistic missiles. A contract award is expected later this year.
KiwiRail is taking the next step to procure a new generation of Cook Strait ferries which will increase the capacity on this vital transport link, and increase its resilience.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) to find a preferred shipyard to build two new ships for the Interislander is being issued today, the next step in the procurement process.
“The new ships will strengthen and enhance the vital transport link between the North and South Islands and represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the Cook Strait crossing,” Group Chief Executive Greg Miller says. The ferries are extensions of State Highway 1 and the Main Trunk Line across Cook Strait, linking road and rail networks between the two islands.
Currently, Interislander operates a fleet of three ferries, moving some 800,000 passengers and up to $14 billion worth of road and rail freight between the North and South Islands each year.
The $400 million contribution in Budget 2020 has enabled KiwiRail to go out to international tender to build the new ships, which are intended to arrive for service in 2024 and 2025. When the ferries are delivered, it will be over 25 years since New Zealand last introduced a brand-new purpose-built ferry to its fleet.
The $400 million towards the ferries and KiwiRail’s infrastructure at the ports in Wellington and Picton builds upon a $35 million-dollar investment in last year’s Budget for ferry design and procurement work.
The two new ferries will be technologically advanced, have significantly lower emissions, a greater carrying capacity – including rail wagons – and provide an enhanced visitor experience, Mr Miller says.
“On behalf of New Zealanders, we are grateful to the Government for enabling this acquisition,” says Mr Miller. “It is exciting to issue this RFP, to move the project forward and to find a shipyard to partner with KiwiRail to deliver the ships to our specifications, quality and timeline requirements.”
“Only overseas shipyards have the ability to build ferries of the size and standard needed for the Cook Strait. However, the project also involves new infrastructure including terminals, linkspans, and marshalling yards which will create numerous Kiwi jobs in Picton and Wellington. Community engagement has already begun in Picton for the proposed new terminal there.
“We are engaging our Interislander staff in the design of the ferries to ensure the ships are not only great for passengers, but also for those who work on them.
“Our new ferries and the associated port infrastructure will provide greater resilience for this crucial link that unites our country and will serve New Zealand for the next generation and beyond.”
FILE PHOTO: A Malaysia Airlines plane is seen at Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Privately held Golden Skies Ventures (GSV) has made a $2.5 billion offer to fully take over the holding company of ailing state carrier Malaysia Airlines, with financing from a European bank, its executives told Reuters on Monday.
GSV, which was set up by former Malaysia Airlines officials and professionals with aviation experience, made the proposal a month ago, as airlines around the world were hammered by travel restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have secured in excess of $2.5 billion from the bank. We will take about three to four months to get the long-term financing,” Chief Executive Shahril Lamin told Reuters in a phone interview.
GSV said it also has a commitment from a Japanese private equity firm to inject immediate funds into the aviation group through an equity deal.
It declined to name the firms involved, adding it was in talks with other foreign banks and private equity firms for further funding.
GSV has submitted its proposal to Morgan Stanley which has been hired by the aviation group’s sole owner, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
Sources have previously said Japan Airlines Co Ltd, domestic carriers AirAsia Group Bhd and Malindo Air have shown interest in Malaysia Airlines.
GSV said it would assume most of the airline’s debt that is being held by the government in outstanding Islamic bonds.
Khazanah and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
GOLDEN SHARE
The proposal includes keeping the government’s so-called golden share which allows it majority voting rights and maintains Malaysia Airlines’ flag carrier status.
GSV expects it will have ample liquidity to help the airline operate comfortably for up to 18 months.
It intends to reinstate Malaysia Airlines as a premium long-haul airline by expanding its flight network and maximising utilisation of its 81-plane fleet. It also plans to keep other business units such as the budget airline, cargo freighter and maintenance repair and overhaul unit.
“It’s still a viable venture, it has inherent strengths. We are saying we won’t lay off the 13,000 frontline employees and we are not going to asset-strip the airline,” Deputy Chief Executive Ravindran Devagunam said.
The firm aims to achieve positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation within three years of taking over, and targets 15 billion ringgit ($3.5 billion) in revenue in 2025.
Plans for a listing or possible listing of its units are on the cards in three to five years, they said.
Ravindran said the firm is banking on pent-up travel demand when the coronavirus is contained. “Regardless of how long (the virus) will take this year, we are looking at an uptick in the business from summer 2021.”
($1 = 4.3450 ringgit)
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by David Holmes and Edwina Gibbs)
DUBLIN, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Airlines with the best environmental scores should pay less for leasing aircraft than more polluting competitors, the head of one of the world’s top leasing companies said on Monday.
The radical proposal from Dublin-based Avolon comes as aviation firms face mounting scrutiny over climate policies not only from environmental groups but also investment funds that monitor Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance.
Avolon, one of the top three aircraft lessors, claims to have one of the industry’s youngest and most efficient fleets.
“But that narrative is not good enough for the next 1, 2, 3 or 4 years,” Chief Executive Domhnal Slattery warned.
“More and more of our major bond investors are keen to understand what our ‘E’ strategy is within ‘ESG’. We in turn are keen to understand when underwriting our airline credits what their ‘E’ strategy is,” he told Reuters.
Slattery predicted that lessors, which depend heavily on access to funds to run their capital-intensive businesses, would in future exert more pressure on airlines.
“You could see over time that airlines that have a better environmental score could get lower lease rates,” he said.
Nov 29 (Reuters) – Airlines that fly to and from Hong Kong will be able to keep their prized airport slots even if they temporarily cut capacity due to weak travel demand through March, according to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department.
Many airlines, including flagship home carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, South African Airways and Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd have cut flights to and from Hong Kong temporarily as a result of sometimes violent anti-government protests that have led to a sharp fall in tourist and business travel demand.
More than 5,800 people have been arrested since the unrest broke out in June over a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China, the numbers grew in October and November as violence escalated.
Under more normal conditions, it is tough for airlines to get take-off and landing slots at Hong Kong’s airport because it lacks capacity until a third runway will come into operation in 2024.
A “use-it-or-lose-it” rule stipulates an airline normally only keeps slots out of historic precedence if it can demonstrate it used them at least 80% of the time in the previous airline scheduling season.
The current winter season, which began on Oct. 27, ends on March 28, 2020.
Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday evening that in order to provide airlines with greater flexibility in aircraft deployment to deal with the fall in passenger demand, the “use-it-or-lose-it” rule had been temporarily suspended for the winter season.
Airport Authority Hong Kong reported declines in October of 13% in passengers and 6.1% in the number of inbound and outbound flights – the steepest falls since the unrest began.
(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney Editing by Marguerita Choy)
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: British Airways logos are seen on tail fins at Heathrow Airport in west London
(Reuters) – British Airways and its pilots’ union BALPA have reached a preliminary agreement to end the pay dispute that resulted in the first walkout by pilots in the airline’s history, the union said on Friday.
The agreement came after the two sides held talks under the auspices of the ACAS arbitration service.
BALPA said in a statement: “We can confirm that BALPA, BA and ACAS have put together a new pay and conditions proposal and, subject to final checks, BALPA expects it will shortly be consulting its 4,000 BA members on them.”
A BA spokeswoman said “We welcome this positive step.”
As part of the agreement, BA agreed to insert an inflation protection clause to its previous pay offer of an 11.5% rise over three years, the Financial Times reported.
The airline also offered improvements to working conditions, rostering and flight bonuses, the paper added.
British Airways pilots went on strike for 48 hours in September, grounding 1,700 flights.
BA, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group <ICAG.L>, said in September that the strikes had cost it 137 million euros ($151 million).
(Reporting by Alistair Smout in London and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Louise Heavens)
PURCHASE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) today confirmed that its subsidiaries Atlas Air, Inc. and Southern Air, Inc. have prevailed in another legal dispute with the union that represents its pilots in ongoing negotiations, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms a March 13, 2018, decision by the Southern District Court of New York compelling the Teamsters to arbitrate whether the merger provisions in Atlas Air and Southern Air’s collective bargaining agreements apply to the bargaining process. Today’s decision, as well as two binding decisions by arbitrators rendered in favor of both Atlas Air and Southern Air this summer, have made clear that IBT must engage in the current Atlas Air and Southern Air collective bargaining agreements’ expedited and defined process for achieving a joint collective bargaining agreement.
In a separate labor-related decision rendered in July 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously affirmed a federal district court ruling in November 2017 that ordered the union to stop an intentional and illegal work slowdown by Atlas Air pilots in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel upheld the lower-court order that blocked the union from continuing to engage in improper activities such as excessive sick calls on short notice or refusing to volunteer for open time.
“With these decisions behind us, it’s time for the union to honor its obligations under the collective bargaining agreements and these binding decisions. Specifically, the union has an obligation to produce an integrated seniority list and engage in direct bargaining for a defined and limited period of time. In ongoing negotiations, the union has yet to provide us with a comprehensive economic proposal covering pay and benefits for evaluation. We remain committed to working collaboratively with union leaders to efficiently negotiate and complete the contract,” said William J. Flynn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide.
For more information about the contract negotiations process and updates, please visit AtlasAir5YPilots.com and follow @AtlasAir5Y on Twitter.
