United Kingdom : Arsenal wins contract to make lightweight armor for military vehicles.Byline: kusumv03 The Rock Island Arsenal's manufacturing center has signed a first-of-a-kind agreement with a major defense contractor Noun 1. defense contractor - a contractor concerned with the development and manufacture of systems of defense armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; to develop lightweight armor for military vehicles Military vehicles include all land combat and transportation vehicles, excluding rail-based, which are designed for or are in significant use by military forces. See also list of armoured fighting vehicles. . Arsenal backers say the pact, aimed at producing better armor for the military, is also the kind of thing other installations have done to improve their viability in a changing defense procurement The fancy word for "purchasing." The procurement department within an organization manages all the major purchases. industry. The agreement, with BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. , will match one of the world's largest defense contractor's research and development capability with the Arsenal's manufacturing expertise. BAE is based in London but has worldwide operations. In 2008, it had sales of $34 billion. "It sets the path forward for both of our companies, if you will ... to marry up our strengths," said Gary Taylor For other uses, see . Gary Taylor (born October 14, 1961) is a former strongman from Wales who won the World's Strongest Man contest in 1993. His strongman career ended in 1997 when he sustained a serious leg injury in the tire flip in a contest in Holland. , chief of the global business division at the Arsenal's Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center. BAE and the Arsenal have agreed to set up offices in 4,200 square feet inside a large distribution building on the island, with room to expand as production warrants. Initially, BAE will staff the offices with just a handful of workers, but it could increase. The partnership is currently pursuing specific lightweight armor projects, but Taylor would not discuss them. He said, however, that he expects the manufacturing center will be testing and proving out equipment with the first product to come off the line early next year. "This partnership agreement will allow us to rapidly respond to the ever-increasing demand for these lightweight solutions," said Tony Russell, the president of BAE's Security and Survivability sur·viv·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of surviving: survivable organisms in a hostile environment. 2. That can be survived: a survivable, but very serious, illness. business. The Arsenal is the Quad-Cities' largest employer, and the factory has long been seen as an integral part to its installation's viability. Before the Iraq war Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. , the factory operated far below capacity, but since the war began, it's added hundreds of jobs. There's an expectation that the work load will ease over time, however. Finding private contractor partnerships has been seen in some quarters as a needed long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. capability for the factory. Other Army bases, including those in Anniston and Huntsville, Ala ALA aminolevulinic acid. Ala alanine. ala (a´lah) pl. a´lae [L.] a winglike process. ., have leveraged private partnerships to create jobs. A former Arsenal executive said there's been a measure of resistance in the past to these kinds of partnerships, so the new agreement is a positive step forward. "This is the first big (research and development) partnership that the factory has undertaken, and it's a good one," said Fred Smith, who used to run the Rock Island office of the Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, a significant contracting agency. Taylor said there's a desire to sign more agreements like this. "We're continuing to reach out," he said. The Arsenal and its allies have talked for the past few years about developing an ability to work with lighter-weight metals. The partnership with BAE affords that opportunity. Federal seed money has been used to try to develop lightweight man Copyright : Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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