LOCKHEED Martin chief executive Norman Augustine and GEC-Marconi chairman Lord Weinstock have held eleventh-hour talks with UK Government ministers in an attempt to overturn a £2 billion ($3 billion) Ministry of Defence (MoD) recommendation in favour of the British Aerospace Nimrod 2000, rather than the Lockheed Martin Orion 2000, for the Royal Air Force.
Augustine and Weinstock held meetings last week with Michael Portillo, the UK defence minister, and Michael Heseltine, the Deputy Prime Minister, to try and rescue their bid to replace the RAF's Nimrod MR2 with the Orion 2000.
An MoD announcement on the winner of the replacement maritime-patrol aircraft (RMPA) competition is imminent, with the Nimrod 2000, recommended by the Equipment Approval Committee, the favourite. The BAe offer is built around refurbishing the 30-year-old aircraft. GEC and Lockheed Martin have been trying to persuade the MoD to allow the companies a further 90 days to refine a recently submitted revised bid.
GEC-Marconi has also been stressing the strategic importance of the Orion 2000. As the main mission system integrator and provider, the UK company would gain access to substantial international markets, including the US Navy.
Source: Flight International