Caterpillar, Inc. has been awarded a $397,100,467 firm-fixed price contract for light T-5 dozers and medium T-9 dozers with type A armor kits and type C armor kits This includes a five-year requirements contract with one five-year option.
Work will be performed in East Peoria, Ill., and is expected to be completed by Jun. 9, 2018. U.S. Army TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity.
iRobot Corp. has announced it received orders under two separate contracts from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), that manages these contracts on behalf of the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Warren, Mich. and Huntsville, Ala.
PEO STRI placed a $16 million order, the third under the xBot contract, to put more than 200 robots and spare parts into the hands of infantry by October 31, 2008. Orders to date now total $27 million under this $286 million Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract.
iRobot also received a delivery order totaling $6.3 million under the PEO STRI contract for a combination of iRobot® PackBot® 510 with EOD kit robots, the iRobot PackBot with ICx Fido Explosives Detection Kits, as well as spare parts and equipment. Total orders under this $64 million IDIQ contract equal $52 million, and iRobot expects to complete delivery by the end of September 30, 2008.
To date iRobot has delivered more than 1,500 PackBot robots.Here are some items of general interest that we have found or have had brought to our attention by readers. Thank you!
BAE has signed a $38 million agreement with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to lead an alliance of researchers and scientists from the Army, academia and industry. The goal? Mini robots for situational awareness.
"The Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance will research and develop advanced robotic equipment for use in urban environments and complex terrain, such as mountains and caves. The alliance will create an autonomous, multifunctional collection of miniature intelligence-gathering robots that can operate in places too inaccessible or dangerous for humans."
"The alliance has a planned duration of five years with an option to extend for an additional five years. MAST consists of four primary research areas, led by four principal alliance members: BAE Systems will lead Microsystems Integration, the University of Michigan will lead Microelectronics, the University of Maryland will lead Microsystem Mechanics, and the University of Pennsylvania will lead Processing for Autonomous Operation."
"The alliance also has five general members participating in one or more of the research areas: the University of California at Berkeley, the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of New Mexico, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University."
Source: BAE
Here are some items of general interest that we have found or have brought to our attention by readers. Thank you!
It has been so successful that doctrine has been changed to lead with the new detector, as opposed to the 'prodder', which greatly improves the rate of advance. The kit is made up of the impressive Vallon detector, improved marking equipment and enhancements to the level of protection for the operator in the event of a mine explosion. There is also a package of training which includes kits for users to keep up skill levels while in their unit."
Ultra Electronics Command and Control Systems (Ultra CCS) worked closely with Director Equipment Capability (Ground Manoeuvre) to bring a new counter-mine capability to theatre a year early.
"The dismounted counter-mine capability provides Royal Engineer combat engineers, infantry assault pioneers, Royal Armoured Corps assault troopers and Royal Marine assault engineers with the ability to detect minimum metal mines in very challenging soil conditions.
Source: MoD
In December 2007, BAE Systems was selected as the prime contractor for the MMPV program, worth up to $2.2 billion to produce up to 2,500 vehicles through 2015, for Army Engineers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams. BAE Systems has now received a $132 million production contract from the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command for 179 Medium Mine Protected Vehicles (MMPV).
Twenty-four of 179 vehicles ordered will include a remotely controlled interrogator arm. MMPV is a multi-purpose, mine protected, 6x6 wheeled vehicle based on BAE Systems' next generation RG33 family of vehicles. The contract brings the total amount awarded to date to $152 million.
Under a strategic public/private partnership agreement, BAE Systems and the Letterkenny Army Depot will perform automotive and final assembly production operations of the vehicles in facilities on and adjacent to the Letterkenny Army Depot facilities in Pennsylvania. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in July 2008 and continue through April 2009.
U.S. Army engineers will use MMPVs to conduct route and area clearance missions, command and control, mount mine clearing systems, and conduct explosive hazards reconnaissance. MMPVs will also be used by Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams.
Source and photo: BAE
DRS Technologies, Inc. (DRS) has announced today it has received two contract awards valued at $34 million to manufacture 2,500 armored roof assemblies for the International Military and Government (IMG) MaxxPro 4 x 4 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle (International Military and Government LLC (IMG) is a unit of Navistar ).
The first award, granted in early February for 1,000 assemblies, was valued at $14 million. The second contract, worth $20 million, recently was awarded for an additional 1,500 roof assemblies.
Production is being performed by the company's DRS Sustainment Systems unit's manufacturing facility in West Plains, Missouri. Production of the first 1,000 units should be complete by mid-April, while the remaining 1,500 roof assemblies will be delivered by July 31. Deliveries of both orders will be made to IMG's vehicle production facility in West Point, Mississippi.
Australian scientists have developed a prototype remote-controlled robotic vehicle to detect radiation.
The concept vehicle, known as RASP, for Remote Advanced Sensor Platform, was developed jointly by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
It’s small and light and can be operated from distances of up to 350 metres with full control of the robot.
“It could be deployed in almost any area or location, from aircraft to cargo containers,” said Mr Warren Snowdon, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel.
“For the first time, we will also be able to provide our national security agencies with the ability to remotely identify the nature of the radioactive sources.
“Emergency officers who detect the presence of radiation with their handheld instruments would be able to send in RASP and quickly discover if it has a half-life of several days or fifty thousand years.”
Mid-year scenario trials will be taken at ANSTO. The scenarios will closely emulate a real event involving radioactive material.
Source: DSTO
Raytheon Company has developed and demonstrated a rapid concrete breaking technology to advance capabilities for urban search and rescue teams in disaster situations.
The Controlled Impact Rescue Tool, or CIRT, uses shock waves to pulverize concrete, which enables rescue workers to remove the material more quickly than using existing techniques.
"This revolutionary approach decreased by 50 percent the time it takes to reach a victim trapped by concrete, increasing the probability of a successful rescue," said Guy DuBois, vice president of Raytheon's Operational Technologies and Solutions business.
Developed under the rapid technology application program of the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, the rapid breaching technology meets the need for increased speed in breaching concrete walls and barriers.
Raytheon demonstrated the CIRT prototype to DHS, Federal Emergency Management Agency and urban search and rescue officials recently. During the demonstration the CIRT smashed through concrete in 13 minutes, while conventional methods took 29 minutes or more.
Editor's Note: The Boston Globe has a short video here.
The Guardian has just told this story of creative accounting, or movable priorities.
"Money set aside to clear landmines and remove arms from conflict zones is to be raided to pay a private defence contractor to keep Tornado jets flying in Iraq, according to a confidential memo seen by the Guardian. The Ministry of Defence plans to pay BAE Systems from the multimillion-pound Conflict Prevention Fund - which covers projects such as destroying weapons in Bosnia and landmines in Mozambique - to subsidise the £5m-£10m cost of servicing each of the six planes."
Read the full story here.
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has been awarded a $32,665,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for fund engineering and manufacturing development for the Stryker mobile gun system and nuclear biological chemical reconnaissance vehicle.
Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., London, Ontario, Canada, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2010.
A number of indigenously developed engineering equipment are currently in service with the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. A number of new combat engineering equipment newly developed by DRDO are on the verge of entering into service, further reducing the dependence of the Army on cost prohibitive imported equipment.
Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) Ahmednagar, one of the premier laboratories of DRDO, have developed a range of combat engineering equipment which includes the Armoured Engineering Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV), Armoured Amphibious Dozer (AAD) and the NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle.
The AERV and AAD are designed to provide engineering support in both offensive and defensive operations in plains, desert and riverine terrain. The AERV is designed to carry out terrestrial and riverbed survey to facilitate construction of assault bridges across water obstacles. The AAD is capable of providing integral engineering support to battle groups in offensive operations for construction of assault bridges and for construction of tracks, thereby improving the mobility of advancing armoured columns.
The NBC Reconnaissance vehicle is designed to diagnose the existence of life endangering nuclear, biological and chemical contaminants in the atmosphere during NBC warfare and cordon off such areas.
All of these equipments are based on tracked BMP 2 amphibious Infantry Combat Vehicle, which allows it to operate on land and on water bodies. The onboard equipment in each of these vehicles can be operated by the crew in hatch down condition from within the confines of the armour-protected vehicles.
Ordnance Factory at Medak has been entrusted with the responsibility of production of these vehicles in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited, Pune.
The AERVs are already under limited series production and have entered service with the Corps of Engineers recently.
New first off production vehicles in the category of AAD and NBC Recce Vehicle have been realized and a demonstration of capabilities of these vehicles to the Users is planned at VRDE, Ahmednagar, on 03 March 2008, in the presence of visiting Engineer-in-Chief, Lt Gen RR Goswami. Flagging off of new serials of AERV to be handed over to the Army is also planned on this occasion.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract to Hensel-Phelps Construction Co., of Chantilly, Va., to construct the Defense Information Systems Agency headquarters at Fort Meade, Md.
The headquarters complex, to be constructed on a 95-acre site on the grounds of the 91-year-old Army installation, will consolidate the operations of approximately 4,000 DISA employees who presently work in a number of locations in Northern Va. and elsewhere in the U.S. and other tenants.
The single design-build contract, worth $369,605,000 will allow Hensel-Phelps to begin construction of the approximately 1,070,000-square-foot, multi-story campus facility. The construction is anticipated to take three years to complete.
DISA is "the provider of global net-centric solutions for the Nation's warfighters and all those who support them."
The German Army’s Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition based in Meppen, Germany has published their final results of trials with the 8.1 metric ton remote-controlled “Mini MineWolf” against simulated AP and live AT mines with explosive yield up to 13.5 kg TNT. Both the tiller and flail working tools were tested for effectiveness in clearing AP mines and survivability against 7 different AT mine types, including stacked mines.
The results of the trial were excellent, with the Mini MineWolf demonstrating survivability of both tiller and flail working tools against heavy AT mine detonations. It also achieved impressive results close to 100% with both flail and tiller attachments against simulated AP mines. All damage was repairable in the field with the prime mover suffering no damage, underscoring the economic viability of mechanical demining in high-threat environments.
According to Colonel Radlmeier, Chief Development Division of the German Army Engineering School. ”The ability to provide safe clearance capabilities in areas contaminated with explosive remnants of war is becoming increasingly significant to the future tasks of the German Army's Corp of Engineers. To improve the protection of soldiers in conflict scenarios we need a reliable, quickly deployable mechanical mine clearance tool. The Mini MineWolf is, based on real-world tests and its convincing results, a very interesting option to fill this gap."
AP mines were simulated using computer-controlled “WORM” mines (Wirelessly Operated Reproduction Mine) developed by the Canadian Centre for Mine Action Technologies (CCMAT). They are able to detect and report damage inflicted by the machine to a remote computer via a wireless link. The purpose of the trial was to determine the capability of the Mini MineWolf to clear (i.e. detonate or destroy) mines at different depths in different types of soil: gravel, sand and topsoil, as well as to survive large AT blasts with minimal damage, repairable in the field.
Click on photo for larger image.
Various sources are reporting that Poland's state-run Bumar is set to sign a US$1.2bn deal with India.
The agreement purports to include: Kroton de-mining vehicles, Loara mobile anti-aircraft units and self-propelled cannons. Several sources mention "WZT-3 armoured cars".
To our knowledge, the WZT-3 is actually a tracked armoured recovery vehicle capable of coming to the aid of damaged combat vehicles with it's hydraulic cargo crane, main towing winch of 840 kN and rigid towing shaft.
BAE has been awarded a $185,983,972.00 firm fixed price contract for the production of 90 Army-configured M88A2 HERCULES recovery vehicles, four Marine Corps-configured M88A2 HERCULES recovery vehicles, and 7 sets of ASL Spares. The work will be performed in York, PA, (98 percent); and Aiken, SC., (2 percent) and is to be completed Sept. 30, 2011.
"The M88's primary role is to repair or replace damaged parts in fighting vehicles while under fire, as well as extricate vehicles that have become bogged down or entangled. The main winch on the M88A2 is capable of a 70 ton, single line recovery, and a 140 ton 2:1 recovery when used with the 140 ton pulley. The A-frame boom of the A2 can lift 35 tons when used in conjunction with the spade down. The spade can be used for light earth moving, and can be used to anchor the vehicle when using the main winch." The M88A2 has NBC defences, a smoke screen generator, 50 Cal machine gun, 432 mm ground clearance, 2.6m fording depth, 1.1m wall climb and 2.6 m trench crossing capabilities.
Visibuilding is a program inside the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO). "VisiBuilding will develop technology that will re-establish surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities into buildings to perform three main functions:
VisiBuilding's approach to this addresses three main areas of technical concentration:
New technology, developed at the University of Maine, has led to the construction of a prototype blast-resistant wood building at the university's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites (AEWC) Center. Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud will be at the center on Tuesday Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. to unveil the building for the first time.
UMaine engineers, including undergraduate and graduate students, have constructed the building inside the AEWC facility. AEWC technology, including a design methodology and coating treatments applied to the construction material, gives the building properties that will allow it to withstand blasts and severe weather. This construction has potential applications for military troop deployments, homeland security and hurricane-resistant construction.
This project follows the AEWC development of ballistic tent panels for the U.S. Army. The prototype version of those panels, which go inside tents and protect soldiers living in combat situations from nearby blasts, was presented to the Army last year. That technology was recognized for the American Composites Manufacturing Association as the "Best of the Best," signifying its status as the top composites technology innovation in the world in 2007.
Sen. Olympia Snowe and Rep. Tom Allen will send representatives to help celebrate that award at the Feb. 19 UMaine event.
Prof. Habib Dagher, AEWC director, will host Tuesday's event, which will include UMaine President Robert Kennedy and Reed Mosher from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Source: University of Maine
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) has released its' 2007 Annual Report.
The bottom line is that while IED attacks in Iraq are down it's the opposite story in Afghanistan. "The number of IEDs employed against U.S. forces in FY07 reached an all-time high, more than doubling over the last half of the fiscal year."
The 20 page report is an interesting read but it may raise as many questions as it answers. Just how successful is counter-IED technology? Is it the "best bang for the buck"?
