Leonardo

Vietnam
Thales and Leonardo back to square one in battle for Vietnamese radar contract

The Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corp has told Thales and Leonardo, bitter rivals for the contract, that it is cancelling its ongoing tender for civil radar.

China, France, Singapore, Thailand
Ex-Airbus sales execs move onto new Asian pastures

In the Asia-Pacific region, as elsewhere in the world, the aerospace giant has overhauled its sales operations in the wake of anti-corruption investigations. Its former salespeople have branched out into domains that are sometimes far-removed from the aeronautical sector.

Spotlight | France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom
Rafale's Dassault window of opportunity in Saudi Arabia reduced by defence contracts probe

Berlin's decision to ban sales of Eurofighter's new Typhoon combat aircraft has opened a window of opportunity for France's Rafale fighters in Riyadh. French hopes could be compromised, however, by the interest being taken by the Saudi authorities in French-Saudi defence business networks.

France, South Korea, UAE
MBDA faces unexpected competition from LIG Nex1 and Hanwha on Emirati corvettes contract

An unexpected South Korean bid has created consternation at European defence group MBDA, which is negotiating a contract with Tawazun to supply its missiles for the Gowind corvettes being built for the UAE by France's Naval Group.

France, Vietnam
Vietnamese air force sounds out French firms on training cooperation at Paris Air Show

The Vietnamese air force, which has traditionally turned to Russia for its hardware and pilot training needs, is looking for new international partners, particularly for cooperation on training. This was the guiding principle for the visit made to the Paris Air Show by its deputy commander.

Spotlight | Vietnam
Round two in Leonardo-Thales tussle over Hanoi radar contract

The Star NG civil radar contract has been called off in Vietnam, but Thales and Leonardo are still firing shots at each other. Aside from Leonardo's protests over the procedure, the contract suspension can be linked to in-fighting within the Vietnamese administration and to Thales' local partner

France, Italy, Vietnam
Thales and Leonardo fight for influence in Hanoi

Defence giant Thales suspects competitor Leonardo of derailing a major contract the group had secured in Vietnam. At the heart of the conflict lies a French hotel developer who was operating covertly for the Italian rival.

Qatar
Western partners pull away from Dahra in wake of espionage scandal

Dahra Global's defence partners and the companies it distributes are trying to distance themselves from the Omani defence reseller. It has been accused of being used by Israeli intelligence to garner information on a top secret programme in Qatar, revealed at the time by Intelligence Online.

Russia, Vietnam
Russia lobbying hard for its Mir payment system, from Moscow to Hanoi

Moscow is ramping up efforts to convince Vietnam to adopt the Mir payment system, citing the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank as an early adopter. Russia's objective is to guarantee its hydrocarbon contracts are paid, but Hanoi, currently rethinking its geopolitical position, is being cautious.

Malaysia
Leonardo and Airbus wage battle for Malaysian skies

Competition for the helicopter market in Malaysia is ramping up with the arrival of a local newcomer backed by Airbus, which is upsetting the monopoly previously enjoyed by Leonardo's local partner, Weststar.

France, Vietnam
Leonardo, Bell and Russian influence fail to deter Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters is not letting competition from Leonardo and Bell discourage it from the Vietnamese market. But despite having long-standing relations with potential clients in the country, including the Minister of Public Security, a tug-of-war between pro-Russian and pro-West factions of the Minister of Defence is taking a toll on those ambitions.

United States, Vietnam
Bell flies full speed ahead on helicopter sales in Vietnam

US manufacturer Bell was part of a large business delegation that travelled to Hanoi in March. It hopes to sell helicopters to the Ministry of Public Safety in Hanoi. For the first time since the two countries were at war, Vietnamese helicopter pilots are being trained on US soil.

Spotlight | Europe, United States, Vietnam
Leonardo pounces on potential Vietnamese helicopter deal after Moscow loses exclusivity

The war in Ukraine is forcing Vietnam into having to acquire a new fleet of civil and military helicopters over the next few years due to problems with the maintenance and update of its Russian-made aircraft.

Spotlight | Russia, UAE, United States
Washington wants Dubai-Russia trade route to end

The United Arab Emirates has become an export hub for goods into sanctioned Russia, and the US is trying to convince Dubai customs to put a stop to it.

France, Italy, Turkey
Ankara bids to get into space observation's major league with Impro

Young public sector company Impro, which markets the images taken by Turkey's military satellites, has set up a partnership with Telespazio to help it boost Turkey's geospatial intelligence capacity ahead of the eagerly awaited arrival of the Gokturk-3 observation satellite.

The Tech Telegraph
EU's hybrid warfare centre, Campus Cyber, Social Links in Latin America, BAE Systems in Qatar

From SIGINT to GEOINT and OSINT and a dose of cyber, each week we report on events both big and small that matter in the community of technical intelligence providers.

BrusselsEU picks Leonardo and Indra to develop European cyber situational awareness centre.

ParisBig data analytics specialist Temno further opens France's Campus Cyber to intelligence.

New York/MexicoOSINT specialist Social Links wants a share of Latin American market.

DohaBAE Systems nudges way into US business networks in Qatar.

Spotlight | United Kingdom
Strategic electronic warfare firm Ultra Electronics reorganises under new shareholder Advent

US investor Advent is substantially remodelling its new subsidiary, the British military and intelligence supplier Ultra Electronics, in response to UK government sovereignty concerns in the wake of the firm's sale last August.