If in fact the Obama administration’s ambitious reform of controls on U.S. exports is almost ready to be rolled out, it is coming at a time filled with uncertainties and distractions.
The U.S. Navy this week formalized key ship specifications for the U.S.’s Ohio-class ballistic submarine replacement and the related U.K. successor programs. Rear Adm. Thomas Eccles, chief engineer and deputy commander at Naval Sea Systems Command’s (Navsea) Naval Systems Engineering Directorate, and Capt. William Brougham, Ohio replacement program manager, have signed the “Ohio Replacement First Article Quad Pack Ship Specification” document, marking a major construction milestone.
Honeywell has signed a $735 million contract to supply F124-GA-200 turbofan engines for Israel’s new fleet of 30 Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainers. Israel’s purchase of the F124-powered M-346 comes as defense departments in numerous countries including the U.S. are evaluating new training platforms to simulate the latest fighter aircraft such as the F-22, F-35, Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale.
PARIS — On his first trip to Brussels as France’s new defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian met with senior EU officials Sept. 3 to discuss top priorities, including the revitalization of European defense. Le Drian was slated to meet with Herman van Rompuy, president of the Council of the European Union, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. Talks with Michel Barnier, commissioner for internal market and services, and European Defense Agency (EDA) Director Claude-France Arnould were also on the agenda.
POLISH AIRLIFT: Poland has ordered five more C295 military transport aircraft to augment 11 of the Spanish-built Airbus Military aircraft already in service for transport and logistics missions. Deliveries will start by the end of 2012 and continue into 2013. The C295 is part of Airbus Military’s family of light and medium airlifters, which also includes the smaller C212 and CN235 variants. In total, the company boasts 113 orders for the medium transport, including 27 announced this year.
Don’t expect this year’s record $65 billion in weapons sales to be repeated over time, says the deputy director of the agency managing U.S. foreign military sales. The overwhelming annual record was driven off the charts primarily by the $29.4 billion sale of Boeing F-15s to Saudi Arabia.
Three years after its launch, the U.S. government group drafting export-control reform measures has started publishing proposed rule changes and is about to deliver a unified set of export controls governing U.S. business. Speaking Sept. 5 in Washington at the ComDef conference, officials from the State and Commerce departments and Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) reported on the progress and the challenges tackled.
Speaking recently about the potential effects of sequestration, the chief executive officer of Huntington Ingalls Industries, the Pentagon’s top shipbuilder, lamented that he would have no idea how to build a percentage of a ship if the U.S. Navy had to cut programs equally across the board. CEO Michael Petters’ point is that each Navy ship has a set size and requirement set. The service either gets the whole vessel, or no ship at all.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) are working to help the Navy understand how alternative fuels will perform in existing gas turbine and diesel engines. The goal is to seamlessly transition to biofuel blends without having to change any engine components. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is pushing the service to meet energy-saving goals, including a 50% reduction in petroleum-based fuel consumption in the fleet by 2020.
ARMY Lockheed Martin Gyrocam Systems, Sarasota, Fla., was awarded a $333,300,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of spare and repair parts to support the Vehicle Optics Sensor System. The work will be performed in Sarasota, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 22, 2014. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (W909MY-12-D-0017). NAVY
ARMY PAR Government Corp., Rome, N.Y., was awarded a $48,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the services, including Full-Motion Video, Geospatial Information Systems and Surveillance and Reconnaissance related applications. The work will be performed in Rome, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 27, 2017. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-12-D-0010).
It certainly has been a hot summer for contracts associated with U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) and Aegis combat system-related work. The U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded contracts and contract modifications for at least $2.3 billion worth of missiles, BMD research and Aegis system-related work in July and August, according to Pentagon contract reports. The potential total cumulative amount for those contracts approaches about $3.9 billion.
FRANKFURT — Bernhard Gerwert has been named the new CEO of EADS’ defense division Cassidian, effective immediately following the resignation of longtime CEO Stefan Zoller. Zoller has headed the division since 2005. His departure does not come as a complete surprise, after he was rumored to have wanted to become EADS CEO when the group sought a replacement for Louis Gallois earlier this year. The board picked ex-Airbus CEO Thomas Enders, who has headed EADS since June.
SINGAPORE — Thailand’s air force has decided that the Eurocopter EC-725 will be the type to replace its aging Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1Hs. The country’s cabinet has approved the purchase of 10 EC-725s, according to an air force spokesperson. “The project is divided into two phases; the first phase is to receive the first four helicopters within the year 2015,” the spokesperson says.
ARMY Alliant Techsystems Operation L.L.C., Keyser, W.Va., was awarded an $84,100,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of the MK 437 Multi-Option Fuze, Navy. The work will be performed in Keyser, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 15, 2017. Two bids were solicited, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-12-D-0089).
SINGAPORE — Vietnam is expected to receive its third Airbus Military C212-400 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) next year, completing its order for the type and giving a major boost to Vietnam’s maritime surveillance capabilities. The Southeast Asian nation ordered three of the aircraft in 2008 for the Vietnam Maritime Police. The first arrived in Hanoi on Aug. 16 after a 10-day ferry flight from Skavsta, Sweden, Airbus Military says. On the way the aircraft stopped in Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, India and Thailand.
Click here to view the pdf Fiscal 2013 Senate Defense Appropriations Markup:Other Procurement: U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force ($ in thousands) Fiscal 2013 Senate Defense Appropriations Markup: Other Procurement: U.S.
The Obama administration is supposed to provide details on how it will handle a potential across-the-board federal budget reduction later this week. And although Congress could return after the November elections with a plan for delaying or somehow avoiding the budget penalty known as sequestration, contractors are also preparing themselves for the possibility. Agnes Dover, director of the government contracts group at the international law firm Hogan Lovells, has had a number of tips for her clients as the “fiscal cliff” nears.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense ministry is in talks with French firm Sextant to buy 95 more autopilot systems for Indian air force (IAF) Jaguar fighters. “Procurement of autopilot for 55 Jaguar aircraft has been completed and commercial discussions for repeat procurement of additional 95 autopilots are [under way],” Defense Minister A. K. Antony said in parliament Sept. 3.
