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s f u t u r e in h a n d s

  o f

  c r e d i t o r

NDREW DOY L E /M UN ICH

RAHAM WAR WICK/W ASHING TON

  DC

ET KUNOVICE'S largest

creditor  is   to decide this week

to file a bankruptcy peti

 pro

 financial problems.

The Ayres-owned company

on), and cann ot

sav

  B A E   Systems, which

set work w ith Let as

NEWS IN RIEF

• CORRECTION

Due to a production error,

the last sentence of the

Ne ws Analysis, Global

Hawk to partner U-2

  Flight

International 29 Augus t -4

September) was no t printed.

The last sentence should

read: Th e Sens or Craft would

b e   the aircraft compon ent of a

fully integrated intelligence

surveillance and reconnais

sance system to also include

ground-based space assets.

• LOCKHEED NASA ALLIANCE

Lockheed M artin and NASA

plan to establish a joint Prop

ulsion, Thermal and Metro

logy C ente r at NASA's Joh n

Stenn is Space Center, Missis

sippi, next year. The centre

will produce propulsion sys

tems for thrusters, thermal

control systems a n d  calibrate

test equipment and tools.

part of its campaign to sell Saab

Gripens to the Czech air force.

KoB demanded that adequate

financing be secured by 4

September if Let was to continue

as a going co ncern, and insisted tha t

yres install a new bo ard at Let's 31

August annual general meeting -   a

meeting Ayres cancelled, KoB says,

claiming mere were no new can

didates for the board.

If the two conditions are not

fulfilled and the com pany is not put

back on track, more than likely die

bank will be forced to take serious

measures, one of which could be

filing a petition for bankruptcy,

KoB warns. Ayres has not suc

ceeded in stabilising die company

nor in securing financing.

Ayres adm its it quit puttin g

money into Let in July, when KoB

cancelled a standstill agreem ent on

debt repayment, and is not clear

what will happen . The US com

pany plans to build its Load master

at Let, but production of the cargo

aircraft is  a  year away, while sales of

Let's L-410 com muter aircraft can

not supp ort die factory.

Let c anno t exist on sales of the

4 1 0 Loadmaster is essential for

Le t to survive, says chairman Fred

Ayres, w ho is prepared to transfer

production to Poland or Romania.

BAE is negotiating with   K o B   on

Ayres' behalf but rules out finan

cial involvement. We 're working

with die odier parties to see i f mere

is a way of finding a solutio n, it

says.

  An offset deal for Gripen

could provide a way out, and K oB

says it considers BAE a suitable

partn er and is nego tiating on its

participation .

Ayres says Israel Aircraft

Industries (IAI) is interested in

Loadmaster work, and hence Let,

but not Let by itself.  KoB met

with IAI last mond i.  yres plans to

meet with

  IA I

  again this

 week.

  J

A u s t r a l ia s A i r 8 7 c o m p e t i t i o n s l ip s t o M a r c h

R

E-LAUNCH OF Australia's

Air 87 armed reconnaissance

helicopter competition could slip

to March as the requirement is

reconsidered as part of an ongoing

defence policy review.

The Department of Defence

had planned to restart the project

with the release of new tend ers on

30 June , but missed the deadline.

The Australian Government

shelved the*initial competition in

January after a successful appeal

against die sho rtlist by Bell.

The Air 87 project office

requested permission from

defence minister John Moore in

mid-June to restart the bidding,

but this was deferred for possible

consideration by the cabinet in

early August. The plan was also

dropped pending the outcome of

die defence white paper.

In late Jun e, head of rotary wing

and missile profects in die Defence

The A129   s  c ompeting or the AirSl or er

Material Organisation, Gunnar

Tuisk, wrote t o Agusta, Bell, Boeing

and Eurocopter advising that the

new tende rwa s potentially delayed

for up to th ree weeks. R edrafting

could take at least two mo nths, say

Australian analysts.

Th e decision to defer the tender

release until after the white paper

is

  published raises the possibility of

significant requirement changes

leading to a further reworking of

the documentation.

Prior to the Bell appeal,

Australia shortlisted the Agusta

A129I Scorpion, Boeing AH-64

Apache and Eurocopter T iger for

the 25-30 aircraft require men t. •

a n d A u s t r a l i a c o n t in u e t a l k s w i t h U S A o v e r e x p o r t e x e m p t io n s

S ARMS EXPO RT control

reforms to improve interop

  1   September as negotia

The first reforms to take effect

are new types of licences which

reduce the number of times an

exporter has to touch the US

Government for authorisation ,

says Gre g Suchan, principal deputy

assistant secretary of the State

Departme nt's bureau of political-

military affairs.

Also taking effect are new rules

which allow U S companies to pr o

vide deeper in-country mainte

nance and training. All the new

measures apply to the NATO

allies, Japan and A ustralia.

The UK and Australia are the

first to be offered an exemption

from export controls similar to diat

already granted to Canada. O ther

cou ntrie s are likely to follow, says

  a

senior state department official.

Congress   h a s  moved to restrict the

granting of such exemp tions, but

' the official believes the agreements

eventually reached with Australia

and the UK will comply with

Congressional guidelines. •

IGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 1 1 Sep tember 20 00 5