MoD awards General Dynamics £330m deal
General Dynamics has been awarded a £330 million contract to develop a new battlefield communication system.
The system will be used to plan, deploy, manage and monitor communications and information for the army, and will allow users to integrate new radios, applications and other system components faster and with greater ease.
The contract will create 125 new jobs at General Dynamics facility at Oakdale, and secure125 other jobs at the plant.
Ineos set to acquire Forties Pipeline
Ineos has agreed to acquire the Forties Pipeline System and associated facilities from BP deal to buy Forties pipeline for £199 million.
The pipeline transports on average around 450,000 barrels of oil per day – about 40% of UK production. It is one of the oldest in the sector, having started operating in the Forties field in 1975. The system links 85 North Sea Oil and Gas assets to the UK mainland, and to the Ineos site in Grangemouth.
Daimler and Bosch team up on autonomous vehicles
Vehicle manufacturer Daimler and Bosch are partnering to develop self-driving cars.
The two companies have not put a firm date on when the system will be ready but promise that it’ll be introduced as early as possible, and the early 2020s target is in line with Mercedes’ previous timeline.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Lockheed Martin wins F-35 deal
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract worth more than £80 million to deliver the initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II fleet over a three-year period.
Lockheed Martin has sub-contracted work worth £40 million to BAE Systems and together the two companies will form a team of more than 100 skilled technicians at RAF Marham, which will provide engineering and technical expertise, deliver air-crew and ground-crew training, facilitate routine maintenance and help to manage the jets’ global supply chain.
ABB buys Austria’s B&R
Swiss automation technology firm ABB has acquired B&R, the largest independent provider focused on product- and software- based, open-architecture solutions for machine and factory automation worldwide.
B&R, founded in 1979 by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer is headquartered in Eggelsberg, Austria, employs more than 3,000 people across 70 countries, including about 1,000 R&D and application engineers.
The combination will result in a comprehensive offering for customers of industrial automation, by pairing B&R's innovative products, software and solutions for modern machine and factory automation with ABB’s offering in robotics, process automation, digitalisation and electrification.
Coventry University to boost UK auto sector with new design facility
Coventry University is to launch a state-of-the-art postgraduate design facility which will contribute to the long-term competitiveness of the UK’s automotive industry.
The National Transport Design Centre (NTDC) will provide a unique environment in which businesses and designers will co-operate to create design solutions that will shape the future of the automotive sector.
The NTDC, which is due to open in May this year, will provide designers, technologists and engineers with a facility that aims to help fill a shortfall in creative skills that is essential to transport design.
Arup conducts wave energy studies
Wave Energy Scotland has appointed consulting engineers Arup to conduct two studies into alternative materials to be used for wave energy conversion devices.
One study will see Arup undertake an engineering design assessment to better understand the potential for concrete to become the main structural material for wave energy devices.
For the second study, Arup will support Cruz Atcheson in an assessment of hybrid structures using reinforced polymers as the main structural material.
Arup said it will be undertaking structural analysis and provide composite design support.
Aeromet wins Boeing deal
Aerospace and defence firm Aeromet International has securing a multi-million pound deal with airplane manufacturer Boeing, which will boost its sites in Rochester and Sittingbourne.
The firm, a leading supplier of airframe and aero engine components, has been awarded an extension to its existing long-term agreements covering the supply of parts for the Boeing 737, 767 and 777 aircraft.
Aeromet has also secured a new contract to supply parts for the 777X, Boeing’s next generation airplane, which is due to enter service in 2020.
MoD hands Aston Martin keys for new Welsh super-factory
The former Ministry of Defence RAF base in St Athan, Wales, has been handed over to Aston Martin to be converted into a factory which will manufacture a brand new SUV from 2019. The site will eventually build three cars, including two new Lagondas, and will double Aston Martin’s production capacity.
The factory has already created 750 jobs in South Wales, with a further 3,000 set to follow across the supply chain and local businesses.