General Dynamics European Combat Land Systems and Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf, Germany, have created a U.S.-based joint venture company to build and deliver the 5.56mm XM8 Light Weight Modular Carbine System to U.S. government customers, General Dynamics said Jan. 3.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings Inc. has purchased Bianchi International for $60 million in cash, the company said Jan. 3. Bianchi, located in Temecula, Calif., supplies holsters, belts and accessories under the Bianchi brand name and outdoor backpacks and daypacks under the Gregory brand name. Bianchi will be integrated into Armor Holdings' Products Division, which manufactures and distributes security products and vehicle armor systems for law enforcement, military, homeland security and commercial markets, the company said.
Lockheed Martin has received a $109.1 million contract for a third low-rate initial production lot of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, the company said Jan. 3.
On Jan. 3, NASA celebrated the one-year anniversary of the landing of the first of its twin Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit, which has traveled a total of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) on the martian surface. Three weeks after Spirit landed in Mars' Gusev Crater region, the rover Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the planet, where it has traveled roughly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) so far. Both vehicles are in "great shape for their age," according to Jim Erickson, MER project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Teams led by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Northrop Grumman have been tapped as finalists for the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) unmanned aerial vehicle program. A systems capabilities demonstration is scheduled for the first quarter of 2005, leading to an expected contractor downselect in April, according to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report affiliate NetDefense.
ARMOR CABS: Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems of Sealy, Texas, has been awarded a $27.3 million contract modification by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command of Warren, Mich., to produce 545 complete low-signature armor cabs for the family of medium tactical vehicles, the Defense Department said Dec. 27. The work will be done in Sealy and is expected to be finished by Aug. 31.
TESTING: Raytheon Missile Systems Co. will provide 20 range safety kits to support the Tomahawk missile All Up Round flight test program, the U.S. Defense Department said Jan. 3. The work will be done under a $5.5 million delivery order and is expected to be completed in January 2007.
Unmanned aerial vehicles showed their ability to contribute to operations in urban environments during a December experiment in Louisiana, according to the U.S Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). The experiment, called Extended Awareness 1 (EA1), included flights of UAVs from the airport at Slidell, La. The experiment was carried out in support of more than 2,000 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit as they participated in the Marine Corps' Training in Urban Environment Exercise (TRUEX) that ran Dec. 3-17, JFCOM said Dec. 23.
The Defense Department has rebuffed an Air Force proposal to cut the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, opting instead to slash the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor, which DOD leaders see as less transformational than JSF, according to sources and documents.
AMMUNITION CONTRACT: Finland-based Patria Weapons Systems will provide Finland's military with field gun and heavy mortar ammunition under a 40 million euro ($53.9 million) contract, the company said Dec. 28. Patria will produce 120mm Illumination and IR-Smoke and Cargo ammunition for the AMOS motar system, as well as 155mm Cargo ammunition components and ammunition shells. The company also will deliver its Artillery Proximity Fuze.
NAVY Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $35,300,000 ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0001) for the development of the Generation II Mission Computer for the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft under the H-1 Upgrade Program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
NASA has selected Muniz Engineering Inc. of Houston to provide electrical systems engineering services to support the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., NASA said Dec. 22. The company will provide electrical engineering support services for hardware and software for space flight, airborne and ground systems, NASA said. The work includes developing and validating new technologies to enable future space and science missions.
RAPTOR EQUIPMENT: Curtiss-Wright Corp. will provide actuation equipment for the lead flap edge and weapons bay door for the F/A-22 Raptor, the company said Dec. 23. The work is being done under a contract from Lockheed Martin, which could be worth $32.6 million over three years, Curtiss-Wright said.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is reviewing the Defense Department's plans to move missile defense systems from the Missile Defense Agency to the military services, The DAILY has learned.
A new rifle sight that allows a soldier to aim at targets around corners and over or under barriers is being developed by Dayton, Ohio-based MTC Technologies Inc., the company said Dec. 22. The Parascope Urban Combat Sight contains a five-sided prism that enables a soldier to place a laser dot on a target from a variety of off-angle firing positions, the company said. Viewing ports from the rear are for normal firing and from the side for indirect firing. Only the hands and forearms of a soldier are exposed when shooting.
LOCKHEED LEADERS: Lockheed Martin executive June Shrewsbury has been tapped to become vice president of the company's F-16 programs. She is replacing John Bean, who left the company. George Shultz, who has been Lockheed Martin's C-130J deputy program manager, will succeed Shrewsbury as the company's head of strategic airlift, including the C-5.
The Department of Defense has delayed the Milestone B update on the Army's Future Combat Systems until May 2005, citing the program's recent restructuring. In July, the Army delayed by two years the deployment of FCS' first fully equipped unit of action until 2014, but said it will spiral in new technologies before then (DAILY, July 22).
Jan. 10 - 12, 2005 -- 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.
MORE ARMOR: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is calling on the U.S. Army to increase the production of "armor survivability kits" that provide protection on doors, glass and the rear of military vehicles. Feinstein says the Sierra Army Depot, located in Herlong, Calif., is ready to meet that challenge. The depot has completed several orders for vehicle armor and expects to begin producing 625 kits later this month.
The U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School is asking for industry help in a study of ways to overcome shortfalls in U.S. air and missile defense capability. The school, at Fort Bliss, Texas, lists five "overarching" gaps in a Dec. 22 FebBizOpps notice: * "Cannot defeat the full spectrum of potential air and missile attacks on the U.S. Homeland * Cannot "completely defend ... critical assets against the array of potential ballistic missile, cruise missile, and rockets, artillery and mortar (RAM) threats
SOLD: Honeywell said Dec. 22 that it has completed the sale of its Performance Fibers business to Sun Capital Partners Inc. The business supplies high-tenacity polyester fibers. Honeywell Specialty Materials sold the unit to continue its focus on core businesses that provide advanced fibers and composites, fluorines, electronic materials and other products, the company said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AURORA CONTRACTS: The European Space Agency plans to issue "invitations to tender for industrial contracts" in February for the European Aurora Mars exploration program, ESA says. Programs to issue tenders include the ExoMars mission, which would include an orbiter, a descent vehicle and a surface rover, and the Mars Sample Return mission. "Industry will be called upon to contribute to the definition of a European space exploration strategy and architecture," ESA says.
