Main headlines from this issue

Finland’s HX programme: “We are calculating what the true value to us is” Saab presents final local assembly offer as bidding closes

Saab has presented its best and final offer for the €9bn HX Programme to Finland. The Eurofighter consortium and Lockheed Martin also made their final pitches, stressing the volume of their proposed work packages. Boeing made a short statement and Dassault was silent. Programme Director Lauri Puranen informed CTO that “Most companies think the value of their projects is very high, [but] we are calculating what the true value to us is.”

Malaysia to match local companies to OEMS for rail development

Malaysia is hoping to increase local content in its rail industry by 45 percent by 2030. Launching the Rail Industry Development Programme (RIDP), a project under the Strategic Industries and High Performance SME Improvement Programme, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said that the Malaysian government would match foreign OEMs with local businesses to increase their capacity.

Naval Group plans return to Egypt—and to Egyptian shipyards

France’s Naval Group is back to bidding for projects in Egypt, two years after a rupture in diplomatic relations led Cairo to boycott French defence companies. It now appears that relations are on the mend and deals, including offset deals, are in the offing.

Pratt & Whitney: “We’ve replaced 75 percent of Turkey’s F135 engine parts”

Pratt & Whitney has now qualified three-quarters of parts previously produced by Turkey for the F135 engine. The directed removal of Turkey from the programme will increase engine costs by 3 percent.

680 local companies battle to supply Canada’s shipbuilding programme

More than 680 businesses took part in a recent virtual industry day run by Irving Shipbuilding. The company organised the event to find potential suppliers for the Canadian Surface Combatants. So far the government has signed 45 contracts with Canadian suppliers.