BAE looks to fighter jets for growth

Europe’s biggest defence contractor has invested about £80m in the Samlesbury site in Lancashire, and plans to invest 10 times that amount as it works its way to the full production rate of one F-35 Joint Strike Fighter a day by 2016

• BAE cannot yet quantify cost of probe
• BAE faces threat of bribe charges

Brown considers Chinook fast-track

Gordon Brown is examining plans to fast-track a big order of Chinook transport helicopters for Afghanistan, abandoning the government's longer term procurement...

UK premier eyes Chinook fast-track

Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, is examining plans to fast-track a big order of Chinook transport helicopters for Afghanistan, abandoning the government's longer-term...

South Africa drops Airbus contract

The government says it has no choice but to pull out because of failure to deliver the A400M on time and to budget, dealing yet another blow to the struggling pan-European aircraft programme

Cobham relies on military strength

The defence and aerospace group says sales had grown ‘strongly’ over the first nine months, as revenues from military and government customers help offset declines in its commercial arm

Umeco caution amid aviation turbulence

The aircraft parts supplier and materials group says that its earnings have fallen sharply in the first half of the year as orders from business and regional jet makers dropped off

Aero Inventory ’removes’ top executives

The wholesaler of aircraft parts has ‘removed’ three executives from their jobs after an internal investigation into the incorrect valuation of stock items

China general sees military space race

Air force chief calls military competition in space ‘inevitable’, a departure from Beijing’s past insistence that it is not pursuing space programmes for military purposes