From: Ad 

Ad wrote:
> Robert G Lewis wrote:
>> "Ad" 
wrote in message
>> news:4641900a{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> Robert G Lewis wrote:
>>>> No Mark the Bottom line is the equipment is not there. It has not
>>>> been replaced and there don't seem to be any plans to do so. It's
>>>> affecting every state.  Stating the equipment isn't there and where
>>>> it is, is simply stating a fact.  Not replacing equipment has been
>>>> known for several years. Its a problem that will have to
be addressed.
>>> & remember the kit wot does come back'll be knackered.
>>>
>>> Why do you think that BAE bought into the US mil vehicle repair
>>> business a while back?
>>>
>>> "Here are your trucks.....the wheels are wobbly coz we've had to
>>> avoid roads so as to avoid IED's......oh & we've put a 100K on the
>>> clock...."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Adam
>>>
>>
>> And I caught a bit on the news yesterday saying our Mil Aircraft are
>> wearing out faster than expected
>>
>
> Wear & tear dear boy. Money to be made somewhere.
>

BTW in part see the thread wrt BAE & Armor but...

http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=115098&lang=fra&NewsR
ubrique=2&pageliste=

"Dozens of military vehicles plucked from the battlefields of Iraq
stand idle and partly dismantled outside a rural Pennsylvania plant,
awaiting mechanics, welders and painters who will prepare them for another
tour of duty.
The Bradley Fighting Vehicles, stripped of their treads, scarred and simply
worn down from being driven long miles in harsh desert conditions, are the
latest of hundreds refurbished or upgraded annually by their maker, BAE
Systems - one of many defense contractors whose business has grown
throughout five years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
BAE Systems has seen its Bradley business roughly double since the start of
the war in 2003, and like many defense companies, is poised to benefit
further from soaring government spending as the military replaces, repairs
or upgrades combat equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier this
year, the military began shipping thousands of battered Humvees and other
pieces of equipment - from helicopters to tanks - from Iraq to the U.S. to
be rebuilt.
Another major defense contractor, General Dynamics Corp. (GD), has been
awarded contracts to overhaul hundreds of its Abrams tanks since 2004,
according to Tom Peterson, the company's M1A2 Abrams program manager. It
has also established a major repair depot in the Middle East for its
eight-wheeled Stryker troop carriers. Other defense companies doing
refurbishment work include Boeing Co. (BA), the Chicago-based maker of
Apache and Chinook helicopters; Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), the Bethesda,
Md.-based F-16 fighter jet manufacturer; and L-3 Communications Holdings
Inc. (LLL), a New York-based maker of specialized communications systems.
BAE Systems was already refurbishing or upgrading the vehicles, built
between 1981 and the mid-1990s, before the Iraq war began, but the fighting
has brought a big increase in the number of Bradleys that need fixing or
improving. The Army currently has about 4,500 of the vehicles. The work
largely entails basic automotive work - rebuilding diesel engines,
transmissions and suspension systems. Relatively few show signs of combat
damage. Andy Hove, director of the company's Bradley Combat Systems
division, said a typical Bradley might have been driven between 800 and
1,000 miles per year before the war, but might cover as many as 10,000
miles per year in Iraq.
As a result, they need to be refurbished more frequently. "It's
routine work, but instead of seeing these vehicles every 10 years, we're
starting to see them every one year," he said."


"Upgrading an older Bradley to the latest version - the Bradley A3 -
costs slightly less than $2.5 million, while a basic overhaul of an
existing configuration can cost between $1 million and $1.5 million,
depending on the vehicle's condition, he said. The Bradley overhauling and
remanufacturing businesses totaled about
$1.4 billion in 2006 compared with $500 million to $800 million in
pre-war years. The company's London-based parent, BAE Systems PLC (BAESY),
had 2005 sales of more than $28 billion. Government spending on military
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 is expected to reach its highest
level since the Iraq war began, possibly growing to as much as $200
billion. About $120 billion was spent in the 2006 budget year, according to
the Congressional Budget Office. Some $70 billion has already been approved
for the budget year that began Oct. 1, and more money is needed to replace
lost or worn-out equipment.
"We're getting into that cycle now where all that equipment over there
is breaking down and needs to be refurbished," replaced or upgraded,
said Stephen Trimble, Americas bureau chief for the defense industry
magazine Jane's Defense Weekly.
Demand for the equipment has become acute because the conflict has dragged
on for nearly four years, he said. "It starts getting really pricey
and companies have been making a lot of money doing this," Trimble
said. "It's certainly something that for the next few years is going
to be nice for their bottom lines.""


Cheers for the cash matey boys from across the pond.... & now
if BAE buy armor...blimey that's some serious loot.



Adam

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5