AIR FORCE United Technologies Corp., East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $733,952,106 firm fixed price contract to provide for Undefinitized Contractual Action to convert F119 Lot 5 advanced buy activities to long lead procurement. At this time, $128,382,831 of the funds has been obligated. This work will be complete by February 2007. Solicitation began December 2003. The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-04-C-2852). ARMY
Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) will update the Nautis combat management system for the United Kingdom Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunter vessels, the company said Jan. 7. The ships' existing Nautis systems will be updated to Nautis 3, which the company said is the most up-to-date mine countermeasure vessel command and control system. Nautis 3 also is being fitted to the U.K.'s Hunt-class vehicles as part of their mid-life upgrade program, and "the commonality will result in cost-savings in support and training through the life of the system," AMS said.
The successful demonstration last month in Nevada of an unmanned aerial vehicle in the role of route reconnaissance for truck convoys will lead to a more challenging demo in February or March in Florida, according to Air Force officials. A Boeing Scan Eagle UAV showed in a Dec. 18 demonstration at Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field, Nev., that its sensors could use change detection software to determine the location of improvised explosive devices, or IEDS, the officials said. Insurgents are using IEDS to attack Army supply convoys in Iraq.
NASA has awarded four new contracts for extra vehicular activity (EVA) equipment and other astronaut-related systems for the space shuttle, space station, and other "future human spaceflight programs," the agency announced Jan. 7.
Air-to-air missiles will generate $13.8 billion in revenues over the next decade for the world's top defense companies, according to a new study from Forecast International, released Jan. 10.
PROFIT UP: Profit after taxes for Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) Group jumped 10% in 2004, the company said Jan. 7. The company's 2004 PAT was $358.4 million. Profit before taxes was $450.4 million, 9% better than in 2003. Earnings per share grew 10% to 12.4 cents. Investment, interest and other income was up 8%. The company credited the growth to its marine, aerospace and electronics sectors.
Thales Corporate Ventures and ACE Management, both of France, have teamed to launch a venture capital fund specializing in security, Thales said Jan. 10. One segment of the fund will manage Thales Corporate Venture's current portfolio, with Thales as its sole investor, and the other is open to industrial and financial partners interested in developing security innovations, the company said.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is still trying to determine how to implement a $5 billion, six-year cut that the Defense Department approved for the agency in late December, sources said Jan. 10. Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753, approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Dec. 23, reduces MDA's funding by $1 billion in fiscal 2006 and $800 million a year from FY '07 to FY '11, but it does not specify which program or programs should be affected (DAILY, Jan. 4). The PBD leaves it up to MDA to come up with a plan for carrying out the cut.
The high-profile competition to provide the next fleet of presidential helicopters is close to peaking as the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meets for a milestone decision review on Jan. 13, and a source-selection decision announcement is expected by Jan. 28 at the latest.
TEST FIRE: Testing shows the European Fire Control System (EFCS) is capable of firing Lockheed Martin's new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions, EADS said Jan. 10. The German office of defense technology and procurement conducted the test in Greding, Germany, in late 2004, EADS said. The EFCS will now be integrated into the GMLRS missile launcher, EADS said. Field tests are set for early 2005. Production of EFCS-equipped missile launchers is scheduled to begin in 2006.
Germany has assumed the 2005 chairmanship of the European arms agency OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en Matiere d'Armement), and Spain has become the sixth country to join the organization, the German ministry of defense said Jan. 7. Spain joined OCCAR on Jan. 1 and will take part in the A400M military transport aircraft and Tiger combat helicopter programs, the ministry said.
Phoenix-based Suntron Corp., which provides electronics manufacturing services and products to the aerospace, defense and other industries, has signed a five-year lease to expand its Tijuana, Mexico, facility from 35,000 square feet to more than 110,000 square feet, the company said Jan. 5. The expansion is in the Tijuana Industrial Park, five minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border and next to a top-rated Mexican technical university, Suntron said.
Honeywell began flight-tests of its 13-inch Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) at company facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., last month, in anticipation of handing the system over to the Army for evaluation in March. Honeywell is developing the MAV for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD). A backpack-portable ducted-fan surveillance UAV, the MAV is being developed to serve as the Class 1 UAV in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.
V-22 REVIEW: Despite recent budget cuts, the U.S. Defense Department's V-22 Osprey program remains on track for a Jan. 27 review to determine the tiltrotor aircraft's readiness for a five-month operational evaluation (OPEVAL). The review will be chaired by Tom Laux, the Navy's program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs. The OPEVAL could help pave the way for an initial fielding of the Bell-Boeing aircraft in 2007.
Raytheon Co. is close to completing its first order for a miniature version of a system that uses nonlethal energy to repel people, company officials said Jan. 7. Raytheon is building a 400-watt version of the Active Denial System (ADS) under a $720,000 contract from the U.S. Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. Raytheon plans to deliver the system in February to Sandia, which intends to test the unit in a lab to determine its utility, company officials told The DAILY.
Jan. 10 - 12 -- GOVCON: 4th Annual Government Convention on Emerging Technologies, "Enabling the National Security Community," Anaheim, Calif. For more information call 1-888-603-8899 or go to www.federalevents.com. Jan. 24 - 26 -- The ION National Technical Meeting, The Catamaran Resort Hotel, San Diego, Calif. For more information go to www.ion.org. Jan. 25 - 26 -- JPEO-CBD Advanced Planning Briefing for Industry, The DC Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ndia.org.
U.S. Army officials are seeking to clarify whether work on at least some Joint Common Missile (JCM) components could continue even though the Defense Department has canceled the overall missile program. DOD recently terminated the Army-led program as part of an effort to cut defense spending (DAILY, Jan. 4). But Army officials told The DAILY late Jan. 6 that they believe continued work on JCM technology, such as the seeker, could be useful, especially if the program is revived in some form in the future.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, are considering cutting the number of subcommittees on their massive spending panels, several industry sources have told The DAILY.
The Defense Department announced new Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) projects for fiscal 2005 on Jan. 7, including Northrop Grumman's Viper Strike "smart" munition, Lockheed Martin's Sea Talon submarine tracking system and the Air Force's Weapons Data Link. Other ACTDS announced by Michael Wynne, the acting undersecretary of defense for logistics, include the Joint Coordinated Real Time Engagement program, the Special Operations Command Long Endurance Demonstrator unmanned aerial vehicle and the Sea Eagle maritime monitoring program.
Immediately upon its activation, NASA's Swift spacecraft began detecting more gamma-ray bursts than scientists had expected, NASA announced Jan. 5. Scientists still were calibrating Swift's main instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), when the first burst appeared on Dec. 17. Three more followed on Dec. 19, and one on Dec. 20. Swift's primary mission is to study the fleeting bursts, the most energetic explosions observed in the universe, which may signal the births of black holes.
END STRENGTH: Part of the U.S. Army's proposed $25 billion funding plus-up might pay for 4,000 more Army troops, "according to rumors," says an industry source. Defense Department Program Budget Decision No. 753 would add $5 billion a year from fiscal 2007 through fiscal 2011 for ongoing Army reorganization (DAILY, Jan. 4). Current high-tempo operations in Iraq have put a strain on Army active duty troops and reservists.
MODERNIZING: Canada's military has received its 40th Phase I modernized CF-18 Hornet from Boeing International, marking the midway point for the aircraft modernization program, the Canadian defense department says. Under an $880 million contract awarded in 2001, Boeing and subcontractor L-3 MAS of Quebec are modernizing Canada's CF-18s to extend their lives until at least 2017, following the outline of a similar program it undertook for U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets.
LOCKHEED ON UCAR: Lockheed Martin's Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) team made "great technical strides" in manned-unmanned systems integration before the cancellation of the program, according to a statement from the company. "We achieved advancements in mission management, sensors systems and rotorcraft design capable of delivering speed, agility, endurance and survivability," the company says.
