2000-1 - 0877
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8/11/2019 2000-1 - 0877
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s f u t u r e in h a n d s
o f
c r e d i t o r
NDREW DOY L E /M UN ICH
RAHAM WAR WICK/W ASHING TON
DC
ET KUNOVICE'S largest
creditor is to decide this week
to file a bankruptcy peti
pro
financial problems.
The Ayres-owned company
on), and cann ot
sav
B A E Systems, which
set work w ith Let as
NEWS IN RIEF
• CORRECTION
Due to a production error,
the last sentence of the
Ne ws Analysis, Global
Hawk to partner U-2
Flight
International 29 Augus t -4
September) was no t printed.
The last sentence should
read: Th e Sens or Craft would
b e the aircraft compon ent of a
fully integrated intelligence
surveillance and reconnais
sance system to also include
ground-based space assets.
• LOCKHEED NASA ALLIANCE
Lockheed M artin and NASA
plan to establish a joint Prop
ulsion, Thermal and Metro
logy C ente r at NASA's Joh n
Stenn is Space Center, Missis
sippi, next year. The centre
will produce propulsion sys
tems for thrusters, thermal
control systems a n d calibrate
test equipment and tools.
part of its campaign to sell Saab
Gripens to the Czech air force.
KoB demanded that adequate
financing be secured by 4
September if Let was to continue
as a going co ncern, and insisted tha t
yres install a new bo ard at Let's 31
August annual general meeting - a
meeting Ayres cancelled, KoB says,
claiming mere were no new can
didates for the board.
If the two conditions are not
fulfilled and the com pany is not put
back on track, more than likely die
bank will be forced to take serious
measures, one of which could be
filing a petition for bankruptcy,
KoB warns. Ayres has not suc
ceeded in stabilising die company
nor in securing financing.
Ayres adm its it quit puttin g
money into Let in July, when KoB
cancelled a standstill agreem ent on
debt repayment, and is not clear
what will happen . The US com
pany plans to build its Load master
at Let, but production of the cargo
aircraft is a year away, while sales of
Let's L-410 com muter aircraft can
not supp ort die factory.
Let c anno t exist on sales of the
4 1 0 Loadmaster is essential for
Le t to survive, says chairman Fred
Ayres, w ho is prepared to transfer
production to Poland or Romania.
BAE is negotiating with K o B on
Ayres' behalf but rules out finan
cial involvement. We 're working
with die odier parties to see i f mere
is a way of finding a solutio n, it
says.
An offset deal for Gripen
could provide a way out, and K oB
says it considers BAE a suitable
partn er and is nego tiating on its
participation .
Ayres says Israel Aircraft
Industries (IAI) is interested in
Loadmaster work, and hence Let,
but not Let by itself. KoB met
with IAI last mond i. yres plans to
meet with
IA I
again this
week.
J
A u s t r a l ia s A i r 8 7 c o m p e t i t i o n s l ip s t o M a r c h
R
E-LAUNCH OF Australia's
Air 87 armed reconnaissance
helicopter competition could slip
to March as the requirement is
reconsidered as part of an ongoing
defence policy review.
The Department of Defence
had planned to restart the project
with the release of new tend ers on
30 June , but missed the deadline.
The Australian Government
shelved the*initial competition in
January after a successful appeal
against die sho rtlist by Bell.
The Air 87 project office
requested permission from
defence minister John Moore in
mid-June to restart the bidding,
but this was deferred for possible
consideration by the cabinet in
early August. The plan was also
dropped pending the outcome of
die defence white paper.
In late Jun e, head of rotary wing
and missile profects in die Defence
The A129 s c ompeting or the AirSl or er
Material Organisation, Gunnar
Tuisk, wrote t o Agusta, Bell, Boeing
and Eurocopter advising that the
new tende rwa s potentially delayed
for up to th ree weeks. R edrafting
could take at least two mo nths, say
Australian analysts.
Th e decision to defer the tender
release until after the white paper
is
published raises the possibility of
significant requirement changes
leading to a further reworking of
the documentation.
Prior to the Bell appeal,
Australia shortlisted the Agusta
A129I Scorpion, Boeing AH-64
Apache and Eurocopter T iger for
the 25-30 aircraft require men t. •
a n d A u s t r a l i a c o n t in u e t a l k s w i t h U S A o v e r e x p o r t e x e m p t io n s
S ARMS EXPO RT control
reforms to improve interop
1 September as negotia
The first reforms to take effect
are new types of licences which
reduce the number of times an
exporter has to touch the US
Government for authorisation ,
says Gre g Suchan, principal deputy
assistant secretary of the State
Departme nt's bureau of political-
military affairs.
Also taking effect are new rules
which allow U S companies to pr o
vide deeper in-country mainte
nance and training. All the new
measures apply to the NATO
allies, Japan and A ustralia.
The UK and Australia are the
first to be offered an exemption
from export controls similar to diat
already granted to Canada. O ther
cou ntrie s are likely to follow, says
a
senior state department official.
Congress h a s moved to restrict the
granting of such exemp tions, but
' the official believes the agreements
eventually reached with Australia
and the UK will comply with
Congressional guidelines. •
IGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 1 1 Sep tember 20 00 5