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BAE Systems
BAE Systems, Inc. President & CEO Linda Hudson is a true pioneer -- not just the first woman to head a major military contractor, but the first female to do a dozen other things that collectively mirror the progress women have made in America over the past half century. On Inauguration Day, I interviewed
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Date:
1/22/2013
BAE Systems and EADS couldn't get the terms they needed from European governments to move ahead with their proposed merger, so the deal is now dead. BAE Chief Executive Ian King said throughout the process that it was an opportunity rather than a necessity, which certainly rings true: companies
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Date:
10/10/2012
Merger discussions between BAE Systems and European aerospace giant EADS are rapidly approaching a climax. Despite weeks of intensive media coverage, though, one of the most important factors bearing upon the valuation of the two companies has barely been mentioned. That factor is commercial-transport
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Date:
10/5/2012
Last week's disclosure that BAE Systems and EADS are in merger discussions has predictably sparked concerns among shareholders and stakeholders. Their fears can't be allayed until the two parties agree on all the details, but it is already clear why the companies think a combination makes sense.
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Date:
9/17/2012
The U.S. defense industry used to be regarded as a bastion of white male executives. It still is seen that way in some quarters, but the reality is that women are rapidly ascending into top jobs across the defense sector. Since the new year began, General Dynamics has announced its next Chairman
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Date:
7/30/2012
Northrop Grumman, one of the biggest military contractors in the world, disclosed a series of leadership changes yesterday reflecting the growing role of women at the top of the defense industry. In what amounts to a generational renewal of its senior ranks, the company elevated three top-performing
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Date:
7/24/2012
The senior leadership of the U.S. Army is becoming a bigger threat to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle than insurgents in Southwest Asia. The service's top uniformed acquisition official, Lt. Gen. William Phillips, told Congress on October 26 that the Bradley is "the second-most attrited vehicle" in
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Date:
11/18/2011
There was a time when the Pentagon's idea of smart acquisition practices meant things like multiyear contracts and avoiding excessive testing. Not now. The current approach to promoting efficiency in weapons purchases is mainly about shifting risk to industry and cutting the performance of next-generation
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Date:
11/2/2011
Army leaders suddenly realized last summer that their planned replacement for the Humvee was in danger of being killed by Congress. The Government Accountability Office was estimating each of the so-called Joint Light Tactical Vehicles might cost $350,000, and that's not even counting on-board
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Date:
10/24/2011
When Northrop Grumman Chairman Wes Bush addressed a meeting of government officials and contractors at the company's new headquarters in Virginia last week, he began by thanking local officials for their help in moving to the location. Bush disclosed the decision to move the headquarters from Los
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Date:
10/11/2011
The U.S. Army has remarkably little to show for the hundreds of billions of dollars it has spent on modernization since 9-11. Its helicopter fleet is in reasonably good shape because the service decided to keep buying systems like the Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook that had already proven themselves,
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Date:
9/28/2011
With the usual tools for stimulating a weak economy largely exhausted, the Obama Administration may be belatedly considering how weapons spending by the Pentagon contributes to growth. It appears that weapons outlays have a sizable impact on job creation, export performance, and economic competitiveness.
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Date:
8/22/2011
BAE Systems, Inc. scored a major coup in the defense industry's Washington lobbying wars yesterday when it disclosed that it had hired star operative Erin Moseley as its next Senior Vice President for Government Relations. Moseley is one of the most energetic and well-connected players in the sector,
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Date:
7/7/2011
In the years since the Cold War ended, the number of system integrators in many segments of the defense industry has declined significantly. A dozen missile producers became four, six naval shipbuilders became two, and the ranks of military aircraft manufacturers were reduced by half. However,
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Date:
4/12/2011
Consider the challenge faced by ITT Defense as it prepares to become independent from the conglomerate that currently owns it. Anywhere else in the world, ITT would be a national gem -- the most accomplished player in military electronics and related fields within several time zones. But in the
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Date:
3/18/2011
Date:
3/14/2011
BAE Systems began the year by making a smart move: it took its U.S. commercial avionics unit off the auction block. That decision undoubtedly came as a big surprise to the three bidders who submitted final offers last week, and many observers concluded that the offers must have been lower than
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Date:
1/12/2011
The big story for the defense industry in the January 6 budget cuts proposed by defense secretary Robert Gates was what didn't happen: after reducing future weapons outlays by $330 billion in previous rounds of budget cutting, this time Gates cut almost nothing. The headline story was termination
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Date:
1/7/2011
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Monday that the United Auto Workers local representing 2,750 employees at Oshkosh Corporation has voted unanimously to reject a one-year contract extension proposed by management. The company offered workers a generous package -- stable healthcare
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Date:
9/3/2010
BAE Systems Inc. scored a major coup on Tuesday with the announcement that industry powerhouse Lawrence B. Prior III would depart the number-two position at ManTech International to become BAE's Executive Vice President for services. Prior will oversee all of BAE's U.S. intelligence and support
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Date:
7/21/2010
Northrop Grumman's disclosure this week that it may exit the naval shipbuilding business has generated a wave of speculation among investors about defense-industry consolidation. Investors have long known that demand for defense goods and services would soften as U.S. forces began to withdraw from
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Date:
7/16/2010
Linda Hudson, the recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems Inc., informed workers this week that the company was being reorganized into five business units focused on either hardware or services. BAE Systems Inc. is the United States component of U.K.-based BAE Systems
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Date:
6/17/2010
Friday's announcement that BAE Systems has settled long-running corruption cases with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office is very big and very good news for the world's number-two military contractor. Press releases from both governments and the company obscured the
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Date:
2/5/2010
The story of how Oshkosh Corporation beat out incumbent BAE Systems to win an Army contract for 23,000 trucks and trailers just keeps getting worse and worse. First the Government Accountability Office found that the Army overrated the production capabilities that Oshkosh brought to the table,
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Date:
1/19/2010