Two Super Dvora Mark-III Fast Patrol Craft became operational for the Israeli navy during a recent commissioning ceremony. The ceremony took place at Israel's Ashdod Naval Base. The ships were designed and produced by the Ramta Division of Israel Aircraft Industries, based in Beer Sheva, Israel. The ships have successfully completed all sea trials and system checks. They will be used to control and protect Israel's maritime approaches and commercial sea lanes in the eastern Mediterranean, the company said.
Selex Sistemi Integrati, owned by Italy's Finmeccanica, has been awarded a 30 million euro ($36.1 million) contract to build an automated radar surveillance system for Poland's coastal waters, the company said July 18. Selex will represent a temporary consortium consisting of a number of local companies.
The U.S. Army says it is investigating why contractors eyeing two helicopter competitions possessed documents they were not supposed to have. For the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program, a contractor told the Army's Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) in April that it had come into possession of LUH requirements documents and other papers that it believed it should not have, AMCOM said in a statement released late July 18. The statement did not identify the contractor.
DAMAGE CONTROL: The Joint Unmanned Combat Air System program has awarded a contract to Athena Technologies of Warrenton, Va., for technology that will allow unmanned combat aircraft to adapt to physical damage sustained during flight. The system will autonomously assess any damage incurred and immediately alter the aircraft's flight control system to compensate for it. The technology could be applicable to all military combat aircraft, Athena said.
The program offices for six U.S. weapon systems have concluded that they would benefit from pursuing a new, more flexible approach to logistics known as performance-based logistics (PBL), according to the Defense Department.
Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Launch Systems Group, which builds rockets for space launch and missile defense missions, has awarded four companies its supplier achievement awards.
CANISTERS: United Defense will provide MK 13 and MK 25 canisters for the U.S. Navy and several foreign governments under a $17 million contract modification, the Department of Defense said July 18. The MK 13s store, transport and enable the loading of Standard Missile-2 Block II/III configurations into the vertical launching systems on DDG-51 and CG-47-class U.S. Navy ships. The MK 25s store, transport and enable the loading of Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles into the launching systems on DDG-51-class U.S. Navy ships. The work is to be completed by September 2007.
HELMET CUEING: The U.S. Naval Inventory Control Point has turned to Vision Systems International LLC of San Jose, Calif., for $10.4 million worth of various line item spares for the F/A-18 E/F Joint Helmet Mounting Cueing System. This contract, announced late July 14, was not competitively procured, the Navy said.
Australia's army has received its first Australian-made Tiger reconnaissance helicopter as the government announced it is investing $25 million Australian dollars ($18.8 million) to expand Australian Aerospace's Brisbane production facility where the Tiger is produced. The new generation Tiger was delivered on time and on budget, opening the way for the military's new MRH-90 troop lift helicopter to also be produced in Brisbane, Australia's defense department said July 18. Australian Aerospace is a subsidiary of Eurocopter and EADS.
Michigan Aerospace Corp. will demonstrate its light detection and ranging (LIDAR) atmospheric wind measurement technology under a $2.1 million contract from the University of New Hampshire, the company said July 18. The one-year contract, part of a larger grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will allow use of the LIDAR system on a high-altitude balloon platform called BalloonWinds, giving wind measurements from 100,000 feet down to the ground, Michigan Aerospace said.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Euro Machinery Specialists Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $15,323,194 firm fixed price contract for complete installation of whole machining line for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Work also will be performed in Germany. The performance completion date is Dec. 20, 2007. The contractor will be paid in fiscal 2009. There were six proposals solicited and four responses. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va. (SP0490-05-C-6048). ARMY
Brazil has bought 12 used Mirage 2000 combat aircraft from France for 85 million euros ($102.4 million), the French government said July 18. Previously flown by the French air force, the aircraft are fitted with RDI pulse-Doppler radar and include ground support equipment. The agreement was reached during Brazilian President Lula da Silva's official visit to Paris, where he was the guest of honor for Bastille Day celebrations.
MOSCOW - RSC Energia, Russia's prime contractor for its manned space program, has announced a number of appointments following a leadership change in May. Nikolai Sevastianov, elected president on May 28, has also assumed the position of general designer. Sevastianov, 44, who was managing the Gascom satellite communication company, replaced 70-year-old president Yuri Semyonov following "critical" financial problems at the firm (DAILY, May 13).
NEW CNO: Navy Adm. Mike Mullen will relieve retiring Adm. Vern Clark as chief of naval operations during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on July 22. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Navy Secretary Gordon England, who also is the acting deputy defense secretary, will speak at the event, the Pentagon announced July 18.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said July 18 that it has installed 10 systems that provide real-time air-to-ground transmission of sensor videos and other data on U.S. Navy P-3C aircraft for use in global counterterrorism operations.
BAE Systems said July 18 that the U.S. Office of Naval Research awarded it a contract to study system requirements definition, as well as preliminary design work, on a continuous mobile on-board power system that would generate 30 kilowatts for Marine Corps Humvees. The On-Board Vehicle Power study contract also includes an option to develop a prototype system for installation for testing, the company said. Further contract details were not provided.
An unprecedented national strategy for maritime security is at the White House awaiting President Bush's signature, which is expected by the end of the summer, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins said July 18.
Boeing Co. said it is working under a $41.5 million Army contract to refurbish 70 Apache helicopters under the service's reset program. The latest reset contract, awarded June 27 but announced July 18 by Boeing, is a follow-on to a $16.3 million June 2004 contract for refurbishment of 15 Apaches. Boeing said the work is designed to quickly return heavily used Apaches and Apache Longbows to active service following operational deployments. The new contract runs through December 2008.
A team developing the James Webb Space Telescope for NASA has successfully tested software that will be used to bring the observatory's 18 mirror segments into alignment after launch, telescope prime contractor Northrop Grumman said July 18. Ball Aerospace & Technologies and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducted the test, using prototype hardware and software developed by Adaptive Optics Associates of Cambridge, Mass., Northrop Grumman said.
AEGIS UPGRADE: Lockheed Martin Maritime Sensors and Systems will upgrade a Japanese Kongo-Class Aegis Destroyer to an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Block 2004 capability under a $124 million, three-year contract modification, the Defense Department said July 15. Lockheed Martin will be responsible for combat systems engineering and development and integration of the Aegis BMD Weapon System, as well as upgrades to the Vertical Launching System and the ship Command and Control System, the company said.
