Luxury jet makers battle over lucrative spy plane niche
By Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher
Reuters
MONTREAL/PARIS (Reuters) - Last month, a ghostly grey business jet took off from central Sweden and headed across the Baltic on a routine spying mission.
The converted Gulfstream, caught on a tracking website, was flown by the Swedish Air Force and patrolled an area thick with Russian radar signals off the militarised coast of Kaliningrad.
Apart from a couple of unobtrusive bulges underneath, Sweden s two Gulfstream-based S102B Korpen spy planes look like any other sleek corporate jet.
But inside, the Swedish jets and a growing fleet of newer corporate aircraft contain the eyes and ears of a relentless intelligence war.
Aerospace & DefenseLuxury jet makers battle over lucrative spy plane niche
Tim HepherAllison Lampert
7 minute read
The interior of Raytheon s future Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) special mission aircraft, being developed using a Bombardier Global business jet, shows onboard workstations used to help military operators rapidly process multiple types of intelligence in an undated still image from video. Raytheon Intelligence & Space/Handout via REUTERS.
Last month, a ghostly grey business jet took off from central Sweden and headed across the Baltic on a routine spying mission.
The converted Gulfstream, caught on a tracking website, was flown by the Swedish Air Force and patrolled an area thick with Russian radar signals off the militarised coast of Kaliningrad.
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Credit: Gulfstream
Business aircraft manufacturers continue to invest in new products, with about a dozen new or upgraded business aircraft in development from supersonic aircraft to business jets and turboprops, despite a year marked by the effects of a global pandemic.
OEMs’ investment is “what brings customers to the table and they know it. It’s a very competitive space. And it is great news for the customer if you think of it. When has there been a greater time to be a customer? There’s so much choice,” says Rolland Vincent, head of Rolland Vincent Associates, a Plano, Texas-based market research and analysis firm. “I like our position as an industry; we’re snapping right out of this COVID slump.”
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GATINEAU, QC, May 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Through
Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Government of Canada is providing the Canadian Armed Forces with the capacity to identify potential threats to Canadian security and sovereignty, including in the Arctic.
Following an open and competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the Department of National Defence, has awarded a contract for the in-service support and maintenance of the 3 King Air 350ER aircraft to Team CERTAS, consisting of General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, from Ottawa, Ontario, and Voyageur Aviation Corporation, from North Bay, Ontario.
This initial in-service support and maintenance contract is valued at approximately $72 million (including taxes) over 8 years and will create or maintain up to 40 well–paying aerospace sector jobs in Canada. This work will support the Royal Canadian Air Force with general aircraft maintenance and deployment logistics, and provide traini
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