Elbit Systems Ltd., in cooperation with Romanian aircraft manufacturer IAR S.A. Brasov, has been awarded two contracts worth $25 million to upgrade Romanian military helicopters, the company said July 3. Under one contract, Elbit Systems will supply enhanced avionic systems and night flight systems for Romanian air force helicopters so they will comply with NATO standards. Under the second contract, Elbit Systems and IAR S.A. Brasov will upgrade Romanian navy helicopters.
The ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), developed by the Boeing Co. and the Insitu Group, successfully completed sea trials aboard the USS Cleveland as part of the Navy-sponsored 2005 Joint Task Force Exercise, Boeing said July 6. The trials verified ScanEagle's shipboard launch and recovery capabilities as the UAV completed four takeoffs and captures, as well as 68 approaches, aboard the Cleveland (DAILY, June 6).
The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded DRS Technologies Inc. an $8.4 million contract to provide AN/USQ-82(V) Fiber-Optic Data Multiplex Systems on DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The system allows for data and communications between propulsion and power control systems, steering, navigation sensors, weapons systems, alarms, indicators and integrated bridge systems, as well as Aegis combat systems. Product deliveries should begin in October 2006 and continue through April 2007, DRS said July 5.
The Syracuse Research Corp. has been awarded a four-year, $550.5 million contract by the U.S. Army to produce a next-generation capability against remote-controlled roadside bombs called Counter Remote Control Improvised Explosive Devices Electronic Warfare Increment Two (CREW-2), the company said July 6. The firm will also provide time and materials for follow-on training, field support, vehicle installation, maintenance, and system upgrades.
Armor Holdings Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., has been awarded a $45.2 million contract modification to produce ceramic body armor plates for the U.S. Army, the company said July 5. The work will be done by the Armor Holdings Aerospace & Defense Group in Phoenix, Ariz. The armor will be delivered through January 2006. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
NASA should begin briefing Capitol Hill staff on studies it is carrying out under new Administrator Michael Griffin later this month, congressional aides have told The DAILY. The briefings, such as on the Exploration Systems Architecture Study and configuration options for the International Space Station, should start to provide a budget road map to get going in earnest on President Bush's space exploration agenda.
Textron Marine & Land of New Orleans will provide the U.S. Army with 724 Armored Security Vehicles under a $258.8 million contract, the company said July 6. The work will start immediately and first deliveries are expected by February 2006, with completion set for June 2007. The company said it has modified its production line, expanded its manufacturing space and hired more than 700 new workers to fulfill the contract. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command awarded the contract. There are currently 130 ASVs deployed in Iraq.
The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has moved to satisfy one of its top priorities, awarding Rolls-Royce Corp. of Indianapolis an $18.9 million contract for Infrared Exhaust Suppressors (IES-47) for the command's MH-47 Chinook helicopters.
Saab subsidiary Saab Training Systems has launched a joint venture with EADS Deutschland of Germany to develop and sell live military training products. Sweden's Saab said July 1 that under the collaboration it will buy 70% of EADS' live combat training center subsidiary in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
NASA's Deep Impact probe, which collided with the comet Tempel 1 on July 4, created an "immense" flash of light which helped two cameras on the mission's mothership capture the high-speed rendezvous.
ARMY ATK Tactical Systems, Rocket Center, W.V., was awarded on June 24, 2005, a $15,005,016 firm-fixed-price contract for M228 practice fuzes. Work will be performed in Rocket Center, W.V., and is expected to be completed by June 24, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on Jan. 14, 2005, and six bids were received. The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-05-C-0049). NAVY
LAM LASER: Aculight Corp. will develop a solid-state laser that eventually could be used for the laser radar seeker in the U.S. Army's Loitering Attack Missile, the company said July 5. Aculight got a $1 million contract from Lockheed Martin for the work. The LAM has been removed from the Army's Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System, but the Army said it could return in a year or two.
The Trident ballistic missile submarine USS Ohio, which began its overhaul and conversion in November 2002 to be the first of four SSBNs converted into guided-missile vessels (SSGNs), will return to the fleet in November, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command said. Each SSGN will be able to carry up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, 66 special operations forces personnel, two dry-deck shelters and two Advanced SEAL Delivery Systems (ASDS).
The Department of Transportation this year will award $34 million in grants through the Military Airport Program (MAP) to help convert former U.S. military airstrips for use with domestic civilian air traffic. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on July 1 announced four grant recipients: Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz.; Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla.; Guam International Airport; and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
Kenneth Krieg, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, will pass judgment on the Navy's proposal to award two lead DD(X) destroyers in fiscal 2007 within a few weeks, Navy officers have said. John J. Young Jr., the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, has approved the new acquisition strategy, which also proposes a competition between shipbuilders Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics in 2009, the officers said at a recent media roundtable at the Washington Navy Yard.
A Swedish attack submarine arrived in California last week to begin one year of training with the U.S. Navy's anti-submarine warfare forces. It took about a month for the HMS Gotland to reach Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on a container ship, the U.S. Navy said June 30. The Gotland will play an opposing force during exercises against U.S. carrier and expeditionary strike groups, air patrols and other forces, providing more realistic and effective training, the Navy said.
The U.S. Navy said late July 1 that it gave General Electric Co.'s Transportation Aircraft Engines unit a contract worth nearly $34 million for 36 line items over a variety of aircraft engines for the CH-46D, H-3, CH-46E, F/A-18, H-1, H-60, H-53, S-3 and A-10 aircraft. The award, which was not competed, could be worth up to $62.1 million if all options are exercised. The engine work will be done in the unit's Lynn, Mass., facility and is supposed to be finished by December 2007.
MARITIME ISR: The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has given the green light for Progeny Systems of Manassas, Va., to ramp up its technology associated with an expendable array installation vehicle for maritime surveillance systems. The Small Business Innovative Research Phase 3 follow-on contract, announced late July 1, was valued at $5.9 million. Progeny Systems will do its work in San Diego, where SPAWAR is located, and finish by May 2008.
