The US Navy on Monday said it awarded Boeing Co a US$3.9 billion deal to design a replacement for the submarine-hunting P-3 aircraft, bypassing Lockheed Martin Corp, which built the current fleet of aging P-3s.
Chicago-based Boeing, the No.2 US defense contractor, snared the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, or MMA, contract from Lockheed, which many analysts had expected to win the deal for 150 replacement aircraft.
Full production and likely foreign orders could boost the value of the MMA program to more than US$20 billion, industry analysts have said.
Boeing shares rose 2.8 percent after the announcement late Monday afternoon, while Lock-heed shares fell 2 percent.
Navy acquisitions chief John Young said the MMA would transform how the Navy carried out maritime reconnaissance and surveillance missions, ensuring a sustained forward presence, sea domination and network intelligence capability.
Boeing will supply modified versions of its 737-800 passenger jet outfitted with advanced computers and other electronic gear from Raytheon Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and the UK's Smiths Group.
CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co and France's state-owned Snecma, supplies engines for all 737s.
Representative Norm Dicks, a Washington Democrat whose district includes a large Boeing facility, lauded the decision and said the Boeing 737 offered the Navy greater capability, speed and the ability to stay on station longer.
He also called the deal "a major breakthrough" for use of commercial off-the-shelf technology for military procurement deals.
Richard Aboulafia of the Virginia-based Teal Group said the Navy would also derive some cost benefits from opting for the Boeing 737 platform, given its extensive worldwide logistics and support base.
Congressional sources and others familiar with the contract said the Navy planned to buy about 150 aircraft over the coming years.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
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VIOLATION OF NORMS: China’s CCTV broadcast claimed that Beijing could use Interpol to issue arrest warrants, which the MAC slammed as an affront to order The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for attempts to intimidate Taiwanese through “transnational repression.” The council issued the remarks after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday during a news broadcast aired a video targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), threatening him with “cross-border repression” and saying: “Stop now, or you will be next,” in what Taipei officials said was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the broader Taiwanese public. The MAC in a statement condemned the threat, accusing Beijing of trying to instill fear and self-censorship among Taiwanese and
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