BRUSSELS, March 10 (UPI) -- France objects to open defense market plans
The European Commission's proposal of opening up the European Union's defense markets has been badly received by France, which fears a loss of control over its defense exports, the European Voice reports.
The plans by the EC, announced in December, called for a simplification of the legal and bureaucratic burden on the defense trade within Europe. France fears that it will lose control over its goods going to destinations outside of the EU as a result of what it calls a "legal problem."
Interestingly, France is also the driving force behind plans for a new six-nation permanent EU rapid-response force that would have a common procurement scheme.
France insists the problems with the current commission proposal are merely legal and is suggesting a solution.
DCNS will concentrate on raising exports
After a year of declining profits, French vessel builder DCNS has announced it will work to increase its global sales mechanism, Defense News reports.
The drop in profits in 2007 was blamed on fewer large international orders. DCNS hopes to rake in $4.62 billion in orders in 2008 after pulling down $2.86 billion in 2007 and $4 billion in 2006.
In order to increase its global reach, DCNS says it will open overseas offices and foreign subsidiary companies. Offices will be opened first in Chile, India, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, all previous DCNS clients.
DCNS has potential deals in the pipeline with Morocco, Greece, Spain and Turkey.
Czechs downsize plagued Pandur order
The Czech military has decided it will cut its light armored personnel carrier order from Steyr-Daimler-Puch roughly in half, according to Euro weekly.
In the latest chapter in the Pandur saga, which previously saw the Czechs cancel the contract altogether because of tardy deliveries only to reinstate the contract several months later, the original 199 vehicle order will be cut back to 107.
The original contract was thought to be worth $1.22 billion, one of the Czech Republic's largest defense contracts ever, but the government decided to renegotiate after canceling the contract.
Although not officially confirmed, it is believed that the contract will be prorated according to the same per unit price. This would make the new contract worth about $655 million.
The timetable has also been adjusted to allow more time for deliveries.
Steyr-Daimler-Puch, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, originally beat out Patria and Rheinmetall for the contract.
According to the Austrian press, losing the contract completely would have cost 500 Steyr workers their jobs.
Northrop to keep tanker contract jobs in Europe after all
Despite an earlier commitment to bring 2,000 jobs to the Mobile, Ala., area to fulfill Northrop Grumman's massive U.S. Air Force tanker contract, which it secured with EADS in a huge coup over Boeing, Northrop may have changed its mind.
Reports have surfaced that Northrop's spokesman has denied the company will be transferring 2,000 jobs from the European Union to the United States.
The promise of construction on U.S. soil is thought to have been a huge factor in the $35 billion contract and could have gone a long way in appeasing the critics who say that Boeing should have been given the contract in order to keep jobs in America.
Regardless of the transfer of the extra jobs, the project is expected to sustain 25,000 American jobs and 230 subsidiary companies.
