Communications

Washington, 5 December 2006
 
Global Aeronautica: Joint Venture With Vought Alenia's First Investment In The Us.
 
Today Alenia North America - a Finmeccanica company - joined with Vought Aircraft Industries in opening the Global Aeronautica 787 integration and assembly facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. The joint venture company is the largest investment by Alenia North America in the U.S. to date.
 
"Following the strategy of our shareholders we are focused in the United States on industrial investment to create new jobs, collaborating with major U.S. defense and aerospace firms and establishing joint venture companies," said Giuseppe Giordo, president and chief executive officer of Alenia North America. "It is not just about selling our products. The opening of this facility today confirms this strategy and sends a clear signal to our industrial partners and our customers that we are committed to this market."
 
Global Aeronautica, a joint venture with Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. will assemble, integrate, test and apply surface finishes to more than 60 percent of the Boeing 787's fuselage prior to shipment to Everett, Washington for final assembly and delivery to airline customers. The company currently employs 100 people. At peak production rate, the facility will employ more than 350.
 
The 787 Dreamliner is Boeing's all-new family of mid-sized commercial airplanes. It is being designed as a fuel-efficient wide-body jetliner with significantly lower operating costs. The airplane will allow more people access to economical, point-to-point travel in both the overseas and domestic markets.
 
In the military aircraft sector, Alenia North America and its partner companies in the C-27J Team announced last month the selection of Cecil Field Commerce Center in Jacksonville, Florida as the future site of a North American final assembly and production line for the C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft if it is selected by the U.S. Army & Air Force for the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. The facility is expected to employ upwards of 200 people. In addition, Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS), a joint venture will L-3 Communications, announced this past July that it will establish a presence in Mississippi. The services are scheduled to make an announcement in early 2007.
 
The C-27J Team includes L-3 Communications Integrated Systems (L-3 IS), Finmeccanica's Alenia North America, GMAS, and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. It is the lead contender for the Pentagon JCA contract.
 
In the medium and long term, Alenia North America is currently working with current and potential U.S. defense and aerospace firms to introduce the M-346 advanced jet trainer into the U.S. market and evaluating opportunities to manufacture and assemble the aircraft in the United States. The M-346 is the most advanced trans-sonic jet trainer in the world that is capable of performing the maneuvers of the next generation of advance jet aircraft, making it an ideal replacement for the U.S. Air Force and Navy's aging fleet of T-38 and T-45 advanced jet trainers.