Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Aug 26, 2014 Rome While there are some good tidings coming from the Modi government, I must say the practice being adopted to release an 'unofficial' statement through just a certain segment in the press, is in the steps of the past government. There are no sources quoted and no official sources. This is truly sending wrong signals to our foreign partners we want to do business with and leaving OEMs to clam up and probably writhe in agony. An example is this  Statement issued by Finmeccanica on the AW101 deal  -   "With reference to the many and often contradictory press articles concerning alleged decisions by the Indian MoD relating to existing contracts and future business with Finmeccanica companies, Finmeccanica would like to clarify that at the moment it has not received any official communication from any of the relevant authorities. Thus, Finmeccanica will not make any comments on these press reports."

Neelam Mathews Aug 14, 2014   Recently, while visiting the head office of a US publication I write for regularly, I was surprised to hear myself as was my editor, to hear me wax eloquent on the new government and its plans and how we as Indians finally saw hope on the horizon. For a person reporting deals and scams for the past few years, this was a transformation, and the editors eagerly offered me numerous assignments. Digging a bit deeper for my stories, I sadly found the same bureaucratic mindset and stubbornness to change and a ministry making unofficial leaks, ensuring journos hear their point of view alone. Twitter and a news agency is now the government’s mouthpiece and they do not reply to queries! Dear lord- this administrative inertia is what I had not voted for! I had voted for a promised change in policies to push India ahead, a fresh mindset and a freedom of expression- within limits of course. All this was reinforced after I read a story on Rol...

PARIS AIR SHOW » 2013 by  Neelam Mathews June 20, 2013, 7:05 AM The European Union has been criticized in the past for being slow with regards to reforming its own transparency regime, creating a negative impact on the credibility of European companies. Finmeccanica (Chalet A232, Static C65) has made a head start with its compliance program, which focuses on trade controls for sensitive transactions and business ethics, said Walter Vasselli, senior compliance officer for the Italian company. In February, Finmeccanica chairman and CEO Giuseppe Orsi was arrested following an investigation into alleged corruption involving the sale of helicopters to India. Court proceedings are presently under way in Italy, as India’s intelligence bureau officials travel to attend the trial in Milan. Clear codes and rules are being implemented and enforced with proactive transparency, said Vasselli. This includes codes of conduct for officials, whistleblowing, acceptance of gifts and hospita...

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  FEBRUARY 15, 2013 An order for AW101 helicopters is now the subject of corruption investigations in both India and Italy. February 15, 2013, 8:00 AM The Indian government has begun the process to cancel its contract with AgustaWestland ( AW ) for 12  AW101   VIP  transport helicopters. On February 15, the country’s defense ministry gave  AW  seven days to respond to its its formal “show cause notice” seeking contract cancellation. The move follows the  February 13 arrest in Italy of Giuseppi Orsi , chairman and chief executive of its parent group Finmeccanica (and former  AW  chief executive). The Finmeccanica board last night appointed the group’s  COO  and  CFO  Alessandro Pansa to serve as chief executive and has named senior board member Admiral Guido Venturoni as vice chairman. As of press time, no announcement had been made about the future of ...

Neelam Mathews Feb 12, 2013 Giuseppe Orsi, chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica and the head of its AgustaWestland helicopter unit, has been arrested following an investigation into alleged corruption involving a €560m sale of helicopters to India. The MoD, that had recently said the Italian govt had refused to share a report on the investigation and went ahead with ordering the 12 AW101 VVIP helicopters, has today ordered a CBI inquiry. The delivery of the helicopters, for which advance has been paid by the Indian government has already started. Trading in Finmeccanica shares was suspended.

Posted by: Neelam Mathews June 20, 2011 Eurofighter complete first phase of Meteor missiles tests Eurofighter says it has completed a range of air-carriage trials for the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), which forms part of the process of integrating the missile onto the Typhoon swing-role combat aircraft.  The first of a series of trials to ensure the safe separation of the missile across the flight envelope were carried out by Eurofighter Partner Company BAE Systems with Instrumented Production Aircraft IPA 1 on the Aberporth range, UK. “The introduction of the Meteor missile will ensure that the Typhoon continues as the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft well into the future, keeping ahead of developing air-to-air threats,” says a statement Meteor is a ramjet powered next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile system (BVRAAM), with the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air weapon resulting in a long stand-off range an...

EXCLUSIVE Asian Defence and Diplomacy Neelam Mathews March 21, 2011 Giuseppe Giordo, the Chief Executive Officer of Alenia Aeronautica, the aeronautics sector of Finmeccanica is also Chairman of the Board of Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS), a joint venture with L-3 Communications, working on the C-27J transport aircraft.Giordo caught up with Asian Defence and Diplomacy’s (AD&D) Neelam Mathews to talk on how he viewed India’s burgeoning defence industry and the role his company anticipated it could contribute to growth of the Indian defence/aerospace sector. India’s defence budget is set to increase substantially over the next decade, with the country looking at spending approximately $32 billion in its defence procurement over the next years. Alenia Aeronautica, the Italian aerospace leader, has chalked out plans that will enable it to participate in the growth of India’s aerospace industry as it gradually matures and picks up pace. “India is a strate...