GENERAL DYNAMICS BUYS SENSOR MAKER
ACQUISITION General Dynamics UK has acquired privately held sensor and optical systems maker Kylmar for an undisclosed sum. Kylmar, based in Andover, Hampshire with 50 employees, supplies UK military intelligence and special forces.
ZODIAC TO ACQUIRE CANADIAN WIRING FIRM
MANUFACTURING Zodiac Aerospace is to buy Cantwell, Cullen and Company, an Ontario, Canada-based maker of wire harnesses and hydraulic hoses, for an undisclosed sum. In its third quarter to end May, aircraft seat market recovery helped Zodiac lift sales 2.6% to €583.3 million ($721.2 million), though for nine months it remains down 7.6% at to €1.55 billion.
ASIAN RADAR BOOST FOR ELTA
MARITIME PATROL Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta Systems division has been awarded contracts worth $33 million from Asian customers for its EL/M-2022A maritime surveillance radar.
COMAC B0NDS RAISE 4 BILLION YUAN
FINANCE Comac has raised a further four billion yuan ($586 million) to support development of its ARJ21 regional jet and other programmes through an issue of five-year bonds paying annual interest of 3.46%. In January, the Chinese organisation raised 3 billion yuan through a separate bond offering.
INTERNET PORTAL OPENS SLOT-TRADING MARKET
AIRLINES Airlines will be able to trade airport slots through a new internet portal, slottrade.aero, from UK-based Airport Co-ordination, the appointed slot co-ordinator at London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City airports, Manchester, Dublin and Dubai.
RUSSIA TO END DUTY ON 250- TO 300-SEATERS
FLEET Russia is poised to broaden the range of Western passenger aircraft exempt from import taxes by revoking customs duties on transports with 250- to 300-seat capacity. Aircraft accommodating fewer than 50, or more than 300, passengers are already duty-free.
EU APPROVES CATHAY'S AIR CHINA CARGO LINK
REGULATI0N European competition regulators have approved a Cathay Pacific investment in Air China Cargo that will see the business become a joint venture based in Shanghai, with Air China retaining 51% of the company.
FINNAIR BACKS DOWN OVER ASH COMPENSATION
DISRUPTION Finnair has backed down from its refusal to compensate passengers for volcanic ash disruption, having reached an agreement in principle with a Finnish consumer agency to compensate passengers for hotels, meals, transport and telephone calls.
SARGENT EXPANDS TO SUPPORT A350, 787, F-35
ENGINEERING Sargent Aerospace and Defense is to more than double its footprint in Tucson, Arizona with a new 6,503m² (70,000ft²) design and qualification lab to support work on the Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Lockheed Martin F-35 programmes.
SAINT-GOBAIN EYES INTERIORS WORK FOR A350
PLASTICS Aircraft interiors specialist Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics says it in talks with Airbus about providing a wide range of high-performance silicone seals to the A350 programme.
Source: Flight International
