Saturday, December 17, 2011

DTN News - AIRBUS NEWS: 7,000th Airbus Aircraft Delivered – An A321 To US Airways

Asian Defense News: DTN News - AIRBUS NEWS: 7,000th Airbus Aircraft Delivered – An A321 To US Airways
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 16, 2011: Airbus delivered today its 7,000th aircraft, an A321, to US Airways – the airline that operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world – from the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Germany. This milestone comes just two years after the delivery of Airbus’ 6,000th aircraft which underlines the continued vibrancy of the commercial aviation sector and the market’s clear vote for eco-efficient aircraft.
 
The 1,000th Airbus delivery was an A340-300 that went to Air France in 1993, nineteen years after the first Airbus aircraft was delivered – an A300B2 also to Air France, in 1974.
The 2,000th delivery was six years later in 1999. It took half that time, just three years, to get to the 3,000th delivery in 2002 and three more years to reach 4,000 deliveries. The tempo went up another notch taking Airbus only two years to hand over its 5,000th aircraft, an A330-200 to Qantas in December 2007. The 6,000th Airbus was an A380 which was delivered to Emirates in January 2010.
"It’s particularly fitting that our 7,000th aircraft is an A321 going to US Airways. The airline not only operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world; with over 220 A320 Family aircraft flying in US Airways colours today, they also operate the largest fleet of our best-selling, eco-efficient A320 Family," said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. "This milestone is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of Airbus teams around the world. We have improved efficiencies company-wide and this has enabled us to deliver record numbers of latest generation aircraft at continually increasing rates, with an environmental footprint ever decreasing."
"Airbus has been a long-term strategic partner to US Airways. Today we celebrate a significant milestone in Airbus’ history," said US Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Parker. "It is an honor to be the recipient of their 7,000th delivery. On behalf of the 32,000 employees at US Airways, we applaud this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to a continued successful partnership."
By the end of the year, US Airways will operate a fleet of 93 A319s, 72 A320s, 63 A321s and 16 A330s. The airline also has firm orders for an additional 58 A320 Family aircraft, eight A330 aircraft and 22 A350 XWBs on backlog.
Over 8,200 A320 Family aircraft have already been ordered and more than 4,900 delivered to more than 340 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality with the current A320, making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

ORDERS & DELIVERIES

THE MONTH IN REVIEW: NOVEMBER 2011

Airbus maintained its sales and delivery pace in November, booking 149 orders for its A320, A330 and A380 jetliner families, while delivering 59 aircraft from these three product lines.
The A320neo new engine option for Airbus’ best-selling A320 Family once again led the month’s new business, with orders coming from key customers in the Middle East, United States and Europe.
ALAFCO, the Kuwait-based international aviation lease and finance company, ordered 50 A320neo jetliners, stating that this fuel-efficient new version was an absolute “must have” for its portfolio. 
Qatar Airways selected the A320neo as the reference aircraft for expansion of its short- to medium-haul fleet, ordering all three aircraft types offered in this latest version: 30 A320neos, 14 A321neos and six A319neos. 
Additionally, Aviation Capital Group – the United States-based global aircraft leasing company – signed a purchase agreement for 30 A320neo aircraft, while Transaero became the A320neo’s first customer in Russia and CIS with its order for eight of the jetliners.
With these bookings, firm orders for the A320neo Family reached 1,196, ordered by a total of 21 customers.
In other new business for November, Qatar Airways became the latest Airbus customer to place a repeat order for the A380 – adding five of the 21st century flagship airliners to its five already on contract.   This brings total A380 orders to 243 from 18 customers.
Completing the month’s bookings were Hawaiian Airlines’ order for five more A330-200s – which will support the continued expansion of its network and replace the carrier’s current 767-300s; and BOC Aviation’s contract for an A330-300.
The sustained delivery cadence continued in November, with Airbus providing nearly two new aircraft per day.  Its deliveries were composed of 45 A320 Family jetliners, 11 A330s (including another of the new A330-200F freighters), and three A380s (one each to Korean Air, Emirates and Qantas).  As a result, Airbus delivered a total of 477 aircraft to 84 customers in 2011 through the end of November, compared to 461 during the same 11-month period last year.
With November’s new business and deliveries, Airbus’ total backlog stood at a new record of 4,453 – consisting of 3,348 A320 Family jetliners, 925 aircraft in the A330/A340/A350 XWB families, and 180 A380s.

O&DS VIEWER

Review the worldwide Airbus orders and deliveries totals with the summary table, below.  For a full listing, utilise the link underneath the summary table to download the latest Excel file – which is updated monthly and lists all firm commercial aircraft transactions, including the family of Airbus executive and private aviation jetliners. 
Summary to 30th November 2011
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Thursday, December 15, 2011

DTN News - IRAQ WAR NEWS: U.S. Military Marks End To Nearly Nine Bloody Years In Iraq

Asian Defense News: DTN News - IRAQ WAR NEWS: U.S. Military Marks End To Nearly Nine Bloody Years In Iraq
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 15, 2011: U.S. forces formally ended their nine-year war in Iraq on Thursday with a low key flag ceremony in Baghdad, while to the north flickering violence highlighted ethnic and sectarian strains threatening the country in years ahead
"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the ceremony at Baghdad's still heavily-fortified airport.
Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad and descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.
U.S. soldiers lowered the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief outdoor ceremony, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.
The remaining 4,000 American troops will leave by the end of the year.
Toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is dead, executed in 2006 and the worst sectarian violence has, at least for now, passed. But Iraq still struggles with insurgents, a fragile power-sharing government and an oil-reliant economy plagued by power shortages and corruption.
"Iraq will be tested in the days ahead, by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide, by economic and social issues," Panetta told the rows of assembled U.S. soldiers and embassy officials at the ceremony. "Challenges remain, but the United State s will be there to stand by the Iraqi people."
In Falluja, the former heartland of an al Qaeda insurgency and scene of some of the worst fighting in the war, several thousand Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal on Wednesday, some burning U.S. flags and waving pictures of dead relatives.
Around 2,500 mainly Shi'ite Muslim residents of the northern territory of Diyala protested on Thursday in front of the provincial council building for a second day against a move to declare autonomy from the mainly Sunni Salahuddin province.
Police used batons and water cannon to disperse demonstrators who tried to storm the council headquarters, witnesses said. Some protesters climbed to the roof of the building and raised green and black Shi'ite flags.
Some parts of Diyala are disputed territories between the minority Kurds in the north and Arab Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. The long-standing dispute over land, oil and power is considered a potential flashpoint for future conflict in Iraq after American troops depart.
Iraq's neighbors will watch how Baghdad tackles its sectarian and ethnic division without the U.S. military. Events there could be influenced by conflict in neighbouring Syria that has taken on a sectarian hue in recent weeks.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who made an election promise to bring troops home, told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Washington will remain a loyal partner after the last troops roll across the Kuwaiti border.
"WE NEED TO BE SAFE"
Iraq's Shi'ite leadership presents the withdrawal as a new start for the country's sovereignty, but many Iraqis question which direction the nation will take without U.S. troops.
"I am happy they are leaving. This is my country and they should leave," said Samer Saad, a soccer coach. "But I am worried because we need to be safe. We are worried because all the militias will start to come back."
Some like Saad fear more sectarian strife or an al Qaeda return to the cities. A squabble between Kurds in their northern semi-autonomous enclave and the Iraqi Arab central government over disputed territories and oil is another flashpoint.
Violence has ebbed since the bloodier days of sectarian slaughter when suicide bombers and hit squads claimed hundreds of victims a day at times as the country descended into tit-for-tat killings between the Sunni and Shi'ite communities.
In 2006 alone, 17,800 Iraqi military and civilians were killed in violence.
Iraqi security forces are generally seen as capable of containing the remaining Sunni Islamist insurgency and the rival Shi'ite militias that U.S. officials say are backed by Iran.
But attacks now target local government offices and security forces in an attempt show the authorities are not in control.
Saddam's fall opened the way for the Shi'ite majority community to take positions of power after decades of oppression under his Sunni-run Baath party.
Even the power-sharing in Maliki's Shi'ite-led government is hamstrung, with coalition parties split along sectarian lines, squabbling over laws and government posts.
Sunnis fear they will be marginalized or even face creeping Shi'ite-led authoritarian rule under Maliki. A recent crackdown on former members of the Baath party has fueled those fears.
Iraq's Shi'ite leadership frets the crisis in neighbouring Syria could eventually bring a hardline Sunni leadership to power in Damascus, worsening Iraq's own sectarian tensions.
"WAS IT WORTH IT?"
U.S. troops were supposed to stay on as part of a deal to train the Iraqi armed forces but talks over immunity from prosecution for American soldiers fell apart.
Memories of U.S. abuses, arrests and killings still haunt many Iraqis and the question of legal protection from prosecution looked too sensitive to push through parliament.
At the height of the war, 170,000 American soldiers occupied more than 500 bases across the country.
Only around 150 U.S. soldiers will remain after December 31 attached to the huge U.S. Embassy near the Tigris River. Civilian contractors will take on the task of training Iraqi forces on U.S. military hardware.
Every day trucks with troops trundle in convoys across the Kuwaiti border.
"Was it worth it? I am sure it was. When we first came in here, the Iraqi people seemed like they were happy to see us," said Sgt 1st Class Lon Bennish, packing up recently at a U.S. base and finishing the last of three deployments in Iraq.
"I hope we are leaving behind a country that says 'Hey, we are better off now than we were before.'"
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

DTN News - KOREAN DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 2nd Peace Eye AEW&C Aircraft To Republic Of Korea Air Force

Asian Defense News: DTN News - KOREAN DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 2nd Peace Eye AEW&C Aircraft To Republic Of Korea Air Force
Peace Eye No. 2 is 1st to be modified by Korea Aerospace Industries
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / ROKAF BASE GIMHAE, South Korea,
- December 13, 2011: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today delivered the second Peace Eye737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force(ROKAF).

The aircraft was delivered ahead of schedule to ROKAF Base Gimhae, the main operating base for the Peace Eye fleet. Peace Eye No. 2 is the first aircraft in the fleet to be modified into an AEW&C configuration by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) at its facility in Sacheon.

"The quality of KAI's work has been outstanding. Their commitment to excellence, their focus and their technical expertisewere critical to the achievement of this major milestone," said Randy Price, Peace Eye program manager for Boeing.

Two additional Peace Eye aircraft are being modified by KAI in Sacheon and will be delivered to the ROKAF in 2012.

The Peace Eye program includes four 737 AEW&C aircraft plus ground support segments formission crew training, mission support and system maintenance. 737-based AEW&C aircraft also are in production for the governments of Australia and Turkey.

Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 commercial airplane, the 737 AEW&C aircraft is designed to provide airborne-battle-management capability with an advanced multirole electronically scanned radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles that are able to track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously. The mission crew can direct offensive and defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 63,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Contact:

Dave Sloan
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
+1 253-657-8008
david.a.sloan@boeing.com

Chang Koh
Boeing Korea Communications
+82 2 2075 4815

changgyun.koh@boeing.com


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