Aerospace Diary

Kurt Baes, Willem Romanus, Mattias Banck of Arthur D. Little The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry today struggles with a duality: defense-driven segments take hits due to significant governmental budget cuts, while commercial aircraft manufacturing is enjoying double-digit growth. Commercial aircraft deliveries at Airbus and Boeing grew by a CAGR of 7.5% between 2010 and 2015, with both companies registering record annual deliveries in recent years. Nevertheless, the commercial aircraft value chain is under stress: only half of the manufacturing firms in the chain show healthy profitability growth, and European players especially have struggled to enhance shareholder value. Which strategies should players take to surf the growth wave? Commercial aircraft manufacturing: steady and strong growth, sizeable order backlog Air traffic growth and the replacement of ageing fuel-inefficient aircrafts are driving the global commercial aircraft market. The two major OEMs, Ai...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW  »  2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 11, 2014, 5:00 AM The Indian government last week stalled completion of several major military equipment deals until at least the end of the current financial year on March 31. “We have no money,” said defense minister  A. K.  Antony at the Defexpo show in New Dehli on Thursday. Antony said 92 percent of the defense budget had already been used up this year. With around $1.2 billion diverted from the defense capital expenditure budget back to the central government coffers, nothing is left for the advance payments that will need to be made when the contracts are signed–and to make matters worse the Indian rupee has taken a beating in the past year, making imports expensive. Some major deals in the final stages of being signed include 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft ( MMRCA ), the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport Aircraft and a repeat order for s...

Neelam Mathews July 16, 2013 Talk of pulling over the eyes. Minister of  Commerce has announced 'state-of-the art' defense technology products asking for over 26% FDI would need clearance from CCS. Asked to define 'state of the art', the reporter was told to check with MoD. As one official jokingly told Aerospace Diary- "Now the big Indian fish will rejoice and the small ones will mourn." Wonder what the OEMs are thinking! So what has really changed? A case-to-case basis for FDI in defense upto 49% was already there.And we know how many OEMs learnt the hard way that it wasn't an easy hurdle to overcome. Is this a case of the defense minister getting his way and a face saving for the rest? So, are we back to square one?

Posted by- Neelam Mathews July 6, 2013 Sitanshu Kar from Beijing Text of the Joint Statement issued at the end of talks with Chinese leaders by the Defense Minister  AK Antony in Beijing today. Defense Minister  AK Antony visited the 24 Air Division of Chinese Air Force in the outskirts of Beijing  on July 6, 2013. Here he is seen near the cockpit of an J-10 Fighter aircraft. The Indian Minister of Defense,  AK Antony, paid an official visit to China from 4-7 July 2013 at the invitation of the Chinese Defense Minister Gen Chang Wanquan. He held talks with his counterpart Gen Chang Wanquan and also called on Premier Li Keqiang. Raksha Mantri also met State Councillor Yang Jiechi. The two Defense Ministers held talks in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and had an extensive exchange of views on a wide range of defense and security issues. They reaffirmed that defense exchanges were an important facet of the India-China strategic and cooperativ...

Neelam Mathews March 29, 2012 In a candid exclusive interview to Aerospace Diary at the Defexpo today, Ravi Rishi , Chairman of Vectra Group, the largest shareholder of Tatra trucks, said: “We will sell to our not so friendly neighbors who have been knocking at our door for over six months now.” Rishi was reacting to the recent controversy in which Army Chief General VK Singh claimed he was offered a bribe to clear the purchase of Tatra trucks two years ago. “We had written to the secretary of defense (To ask for permission to export) when a request came from a Czech company to supply a neighboring unfriendly country (we read that as Pakistan). He threatened to blacklist us,” added Rishi. Tatra has supplied around 7000 trucks to India of different models. “Hundred percent of trucks on the borders are Tatras,” Rishi adds. Having passed out of IIT Delhi, Rishi designed the 12 x12 Tatra vehicles for mobile launchers of the BrahMos. Fifty are on order. “They are customized and nobod...

By Lisa Curtis and Derek Scissors, Ph.D. (Heritage Foundation) Posted by- Neelam Mathews Jan 20, 2012 China ’s concerns over Pakistan’s future stability will likely limit the extent to which it will help Pakistan out of its economic difficulties. While China has an interest in maintaining strong security ties with Pakistan, the economic relationship is not very extensive and the notion that Chinese ties could serve as a replacement for U.S. ties is far-fetched. Instead of wringing hands over Chinese influence on Pakistan, the U.S. should seek cooperation from Beijing in encouraging a more stable and prosperous Pakistan—which will benefit all parties involved.   In the wake of the U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May and deteriorating relations between Islamabad and Washington, Pakistani leaders have sought to play up their country’s relations with China, touting Beijing as an alternative partner to Washington. However, China’s concerns about the future stabilit...

Money No Object As India Raises Defense Spending Defense Technology International Jan 01 , 2010 , p. 48 Neelam Mathews New Delhi India ramps up procurement Printed headline: Buying Power India’s defense budget for 2010-11 is expected to rise 20% from the previous fiscal year. Factors influencing this include the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, tension with Pakistan, security for India’s 7,600 km. (4,722 mi.) of coastline and the need to protect ocean shipping, an economic lifeline. “There is no limit to security expenditure,” a defense ministry official tells DTI. “Whatever is asked for, is given.” The memory of the Mumbai attack has put the government under pressure to procure more and better equipment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stated that security modernization is crucial to economic development. With this in mind it is not surprising that in 2009, Israel, a country with long experience in security, surpassed Russia as India’s leading arms supplier. India purchased air and...