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Boeing’s Humongous Backlog is Overwhelmingly Commercial
Boeing reported 2013 revenue up 6% to a record $86.6B. Total backlog grew by $51B to $441B. As big as that number is, Airbus towers above it with more than $800B in their order book, or 8 years of...
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Weak Book-to-Bill Ratio from Prime Contractors Shows Sales Declines Are Here...
Northrop Grumman’s 2013 sales were down 2.2% to $24.7B. Total backlog shrunk 9.3% to $37B, with a book-to-bill ratio of only 89% in 2013. Thus the company predictably provides guidance below $24B in...
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Airbus Reports Solid 2013 Results with Backlog Nearing Trillion Dollar Mark
Airbus announced sales up 5% to 59.3 billion euros ($81.5B) and orders worth 218.7 billion euros (about $300B) for 2013. Defense sales grew by 4% to 12.1 billion euros ($16.6B) thanks to initial A400M...
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Long Range Strike-Bomber RFP Coming Next Fall
US Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced that an RFP for the USA’s next strategic bomber will be released “probably in the fall.” Lockheed Martin and Boeing have publicly announced their...
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Airbus’ A400M Aerial Transport: Delays and Development
A400M rollout, Seville(click to view full) Airbus’ A400M is a EUR 20+ billion program that aims to repeat Airbus’ civilian successes in the full size military transport market. A series of smart...
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Dassault Reports Strong Growth, Still Pursues Rafale Leads in Canada, Qatar,...
Dassault Aviation reported 16.4% Y/Y growth with 2013 sales at 4.59 billion euros ($6.4B). Defense accounts for 31% of total revenue, though 87% of that comes from just France. The recent workshare...
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Australia’s Troubled E-7A “Wedgetail” AWACS Program
E-7A Wedgetail over New South Wales(click to view full) The island continent of Australia faces a number of unique security challenges that stem from its geography. The continent may be separated from...
View ArticleHow Much Is Russia Ready to Push Their Luck Beyond Crimea?
President Obama is “standing up for principle” and by the Ukrainian people, though “obviously” there is no military option on the table. Ukraine is reportedly planning to withdraw its military...
View ArticleSAIC’s 2013 Sales Testament to Services Doldrums
Post-spinoff SAIC announced FY2013 revenue down 14% to $4B, confirming the generally depressed state of defense services. Pursuing a more thorough overturn of sequestration beyond FY15 is again on the...
View ArticleLockheed Martin Feels the Pinch
Lockheed Martin’s Q1 2014 sales were down 4% Y/Y to $10.65B. Aeronautics stood out as the one segment whose revenue grew this quarter, mostly thanks to the F-35 and C-5. Information systems and...
View ArticleDefense Firms Hide Many Flaws Behind Solid Financial Metrics
While discussing their annual Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study, AviationWeek and PWC echo concerns voiced here at DID last month: “Another troubling sign is that half of the world’s 10...
View ArticleAirbus Defense Sees Decreased Orders Like Its American Competitors
Airbus reported its 1st quarter [PDF] since it dropped the EADS name, with sales up 2% to 8.9 billion euros ($12.2B). The Defense & Space division grew sales by 3% to €2.7B, though order intake...
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Qinetiq Eager to Turn the Page After Divestiture of US Services
Qinetiq announced sales for the year ended March 31 2014 that were down by 10.3% to £1.2B ($2B). Growth in the UK and the rest of Europe was not nearly enough in absolute terms to compensate for a...
View ArticleFY2014 “Use It Or Lose It” Season Opening at the Pentagon
The US Department of Defense now expects to spend $26B more in procurement and research/development by the end of the current fiscal year (Sept. 30) than outlined in recent budget documents. Up until...
View ArticleFighting Continues in Ukraine While MH17 Has Elusive Consequences for Russia
2 Ukrainian Su-25 close support jets were downed by pro-Russian rebels yesterday. Given their flight profiles, MANPADS are a likely culprit. Artillery and rocket fire has also been reported in several...
View ArticleIraq Requests Missiles, Aviation Support from US
Iraq’s government would like to procure more Hellfire missiles [US DSCA] as well as helicopter sustainment services from the US. In the meantime ISIS is busy establishing Shari’a law, and a modicum of...
View ArticleReality-Undeterred USAF Secretary Releases Buzzword Compendium
US Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James is worried about the service’s current readiness because of budgetary squabbling, but that didn’t stop her from releasing a lofty long-term strategy document...
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Japan, Germany Warily Eye Their Big Neighbors
Japan released its latest annual defense whitepaper, with a wary eye on China’s increasing military spending and improving capabilities. Germany cancelled a €100M ($135M) deal to build a training camp...
View ArticleDARPA Wants to Get Nano Properties to Work at Bigger Scale
DARPA is hosting a webinar on September 9 to discuss “Atoms to Product” [PDF]: “Many common materials exhibit unique and very uncommon physical characteristics when fabricated into nanometer scale...
View ArticleLockheed Sees Slight Revenue Decreases Continuing Into 2015
Lockheed Martin reported Q3 2014 sales down 2% to $11.1B, a trend that they expect will continue through next year. That was reflected in all segments but Space Systems. At $76.5B, total backlog is...
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