Here are some items of general interest that we have found or have had brought to our attention by readers. Thank you!
Skynet military launch postponed - BBC
Explosives Search Dog in Afghanistan - Ares
Gen. Speakes: FCS will work and helps troops now - DefenseTech
Army Installing $1.5B Worth of Sensor Towers - Defense News
Inspector General swamped - POGO
Minot flunks nuclear inspection - Air Force Times
Ibis Tek* of Butler, Pa. and LOM* of Chicago are both being awarded indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity contracts for MRAP 360 Degree Lighting Kits.
BAE Systems has received a $54 million contract from the U.S. Army to manufacture approximately 370 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). The contract is a modification to the current FMTV production contract, now totaling $3.6 billion dollars.
The contract modification calls for the production of FMTVs in various configurations, including Dump Trucks, Cargo Trucks, Wreckers, and Trailers. Approximately 100 of the FMTVs will be configured to meet the U.S. Army’s Long Term Armor Strategy initiative to equip all tactical vehicles with the ability to be armored when necessary.
Production of the FMTV trucks will be performed in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be complete by November 2008.
Source: BAE
The MoD has had successes with their Grand Challenge (a competition open to the UK science and technology community to develop an autonomous vehicle capable of detecting a range of military threats in an urban environment) and the Competition of Ideas (set up to identify and take forward novel technologies). It fact "Ideas" received over 450 proposals and resulted in 66 funded projects.
Building on this, the MoD has launched the Centre for Defence Enterprise. The Centre, located in Harwell in the Oxford-London-Cambridge 'Golden Triangle, will be a modelled on commercial science parks and incubators, bringing together inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics to incubate new businesses and technologies with defence and other applications.
At the opening the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Baroness Taylor, said:
"The Centre for Defence Enterprise is about tapping into the UK's best talent to develop the next generation of military technology for our Armed Forces. It is an exciting opportunity to expand the MoD's science and technology supplier base for defence.
"We are looking for the innovative solutions and technology that will provide our front line with the battle-winning edge."
Source: MoD
It seems much of the robot talk recently has focused on iRobot. However, the Talon by Foster-Miller (now a subsidiary of QinetiQ North America) is back.
F-M has been awarded a new $400 million IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contract for additional robots and replacement parts for service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The contract award was made by the Robotic Systems Joint Program Office (RSJPO) administered by the Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division (NAVAIR). It is a follow-on to the $150 million IDIQ awarded in the spring of 2007 that has now been fully funded.
Over 2,000 Talon robots are now deployed around the world.
Source: Press Release
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded two contract modifications to purchase Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) Sustainment Parts and support.
One contract mod ($28,456,471) is for Welders. The second ($15,220,882) is for Field Service Representatives.
Work will be done in Ladson and in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom area’s of responsibilities. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
The Defense, Security & Tech conference listing has been updated. You will find it in the menu section on the right under "Research and References".
If you know of a conference or seminar that may be of interest to your fellow reader, please let us know. As arrangements can often require considerable coordination we ask for at least one month advance notice.
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.
The firefighters at CFB/ASU Wainwright have a new rescue tool at their disposal.
With the increased use of armoured vehicles at home and abroad, it was only a matter of time before these vehicles were involved in road accidents and increased insurgent attacks. The problem facing firefighters was how to gain access to these vehicles and extricate the occupants if they couldn’t escape on their own. The armour plating and combat locks on these vehicles opened up a whole new world of vehicle extrication, one where some of the conventional methods wouldn’t work.
Enter the Broco Prime Cut Recovery and Rescue torch. Operating at a temperature of 5538°C, the torch can cut through the thickest of steel in a matter of seconds, allowing firefighters to cut off hinges or hatch handles on the toughest of vehicles and access the vehicle occupants. Portable and lightweight, the torch can be carried to any rescue scene.
With this torch in firefighters’ hands, the next challenge was getting the occupants out. The firefighters were already trained in normal vehicle extrication and confined space rescue, so they combined these two and added specialized training in armoured vehicle extrication techniques. Identifying various armoured vehicles was also included in this phase of training.
The training is done in conjunction with the CF fire marshall and DND agencies on other bases. The trials were done in Petawawa, Valcartier and Montréal. Wainwright firefighters Bill Lawson and Brian Goodwin joined the trials in Montréal and are now tasked with training the fire crews in Wainwright. After that, instruction will be provided for military firefighters who are deployed overseas, and will then be offered to other firefighters at various bases throughout Canada.
The personnel who drive and ride in these armoured vehicles obviously hope they’ll never have to put their Broco to work. If an incident does occur, however, they can be certain that they are in good hands.
Source: Brian Goodwin, The Maple Leaf
Monday May 26th is the Memorial Day Federal Holiday in the United States.
Photo: Tony Massey
Here are some items of general interest that we have found or have had brought to our attention by readers. Thank you!
Raytheon Company has accomplished a major requirement of the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) contract -- completing the end-to-end factory acceptance testing of the DCGS 10.2 system.
During the test, Raytheon conducted a series of on-site evaluations with representatives from the U.S. Air Force exercising the system and evaluating the results. In the next phase, Raytheon will deliver the DCGS 10.2 system to the first of several planned core sites, DGS-2 at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. There Raytheon will complete installation, integration and checkout in preparation for the site acceptance testing.
When fully fielded, DCGS Block 10.2 will be a worldwide distributed, network centric enterprise architecture that enables collaborative intelligence operations and production. Its environment provides for both the physical and electronic distribution of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data analysis and tools.
Raytheon's DCGS 10.2 upgrade will be capable of continuous on-demand intelligence brokering that will enable U.S. and coalition forces to get the information they need to take action and influence events in a significantly shorter amount of time.
Eagan, McAllister Associates, Inc., has been awarded a $22,071,517 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity performance-based contract with hybrid pricing arrangements to provide production engineering, integration product improvement, test and evaluation, and maintenance support as well as the capacity to modernize or introduce transformational technologies into systems and technical support services of various C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cryptology, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) programs for fielding on platforms such as: Marine Corps Up-Armored HMMWV, Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Rapid Responded Vehicle, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, other Department of Defense vehicle platforms, Navy C5ISR tactical vehicles, and Marine Corps C5ISR tactical vehicles, in addition to other tactical vehicles.
This contract includes four one-year options and three-award terms, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $221,972,342. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C., and is expected to be completed by May 2009 (May 2016 with all options and award terms exercised). The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity.
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann of Munich and Rheinmetall Defence of Düsseldorf have launched a joint programme to develop a highly protected new vehicle family in the 5 to 9 ton weight class. The first of the four-wheel drive Armoured Multi Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) vehicles should be ready for serial delivery by 2011. A life-size mock-up of the vehicle will be on show at Eurosatory 2008 in Paris this June, one of the world¿s leading venues for land systems. Completion of the first prototype is planned for 2009.
Responding to the Bundeswehr's current GFF ('protected command and role-specific vehicle') procurement programme, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have decided to develop a family of GFF 1/2-class vehicles which will fully comply with user requirements. The two defence contractors are financing the development project on their own.
The objective of the joint project is to supply the armed forces of Germany and other nations with a vehicle that sets an entirely new standard for mobility, modularity and protection technology; and to safeguard and promote certain technologies vital to German national security.
The vehicle family encompasses two type series. The agile AMPV 1 is the smaller of the two, and makes an ideal liaison vehicle. A higher level of protection and a heavier payload are the primary characteristics of the bigger AMPV 2. However, the entire vehicle family is based on standardized engineering principles and technologies.
Both type series feature a patrol vehicle with an unprotected floor in the rear section, and an equipment kit carrier with a safety cell extending all the way to the rear of the vehicle.
Also planned is a special patrol version of the AMPV1 that can be airlifted in a CH53 transport helicopter.
Source: Press release
MRAP and JLTVs may grab the headlines but the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement has been a staple since it started to replace Marine and Navy M900s in the late nineties.
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh has been awarded $11,214,202 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of 37 MTVR variants and 28 weapons mount kits for MTVR vehicles.
Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and work for this delivery order is expected to be completed by Dec. 2008. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems has been awarded one of four prime contractor positions on the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) Operations Support Contract. The contract has a maximum value of approximately $452 million if all deliveries and task orders are exercised by the prime contractors.
Under the Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, BAE Systems will provide JIEDDO with in-depth and integrated analysis services, subject matter expertise and programmatic support. While the majority of the work will be performed in the continental United States, other support will be performed around the world. No task orders have been awarded to date on this IDIQ.
BAE Systems has provided analytical support since the inception of the JIEDDO Counter-IED Operations Integration Center in 2006.
BAE Systems will also provide planning support to JIEDDO strategic actions, training support, operations research as well as assistance in developing effective, feasible solutions and concepts of operations that support improvement of counter-IED systems and integration. Other support services to be provided by the company under this contract include modeling and simulation support, data analysis from selected IED activities, and tracking and assessing counter-IED activities.
Source: BAE
Thales has announced the launch of its new-generation range of COMINT & EW services, systems and equipments called Q (Communications Intelligence & Electronic Warfare).
The CIEW family is primarily designed to meet the current defence and security threats while delivering information dominance and enabling Command & Control operations on the digitised battlespace.
Under the Q brand, the CIEW family includes the global know-how of Thales to design and deliver COMINT & EW solutions tailored to the missions and operational environments of defence and security users, respectively named Intelligence Q, Land Q and Naval Q.
Q mission packages rely on the same core equipment capabilities for interception, analysis, direction-finding and Command and Control warfare or force protection, which can be tailored to fulfil each user's operational environment.
- Land Q is a range of tactical electronic support and electronic attack solutions tailored to army tactical users. It is designed to target the current and near-term communication signals of airland engagement.
- Naval Q is a range of electronic support and electronic attack solutions tailored to maritime tactical users, either on littoral or onboard combat ships. It is designed to target the current and near-term communications environment of littoral and naval operations.
- Intelligence Q is a range of strategic intelligence gathering solutions for national or joint users. It is designed to meet the current and near-term communications signals of the homeland defence, border monitoring and national security environments.
Source: Thales
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has announced it has been awarded a subcontract by Sensor Technologies, Inc. to provide advanced analytical and technical support on a task order for the Distributed Common Ground System - Army (DCGS-A). The task order, awarded under the Army's Strategic Services Sourcing (S3) contract, has a two-year period of performance. SAIC's subcontract has a value of more than $47 million.
DCGS-A provides the U.S. Army with fully integrated and timely intelligence on the battlefield. SAIC will continue to support current DCGS-A system users while integrating new tactics, techniques and procedures and processes to help improve customer capabilities. Throughout the task order, SAIC will provide embedded mentor services to Army and DoD forces around the globe.
SAIC has previously provided system development and analytical support for the Army under a different contract vehicle.
The U.S. Air Force has announced that a team led by Lockheed Martin has won the competition to build the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) Space System program, known as GPS III.
Under the $1.4 billion Development and Production contract awarded by Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., the team of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, ITT Corporation, and General Dynamics, will produce eight GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. The development contract will result in approximately 500 new jobs for Lockheed Martin.
Eight GPS IIIB and 16 GPS IIIC satellites are planned for later increments, with each increment including additional capabilities based on technical maturity. When fully deployed, the GPS III constellation will feature a cross-linked command and control architecture, allowing the entire GPS constellation to be updated simultaneously from a single ground station. Additionally, a new spot beam capability for enhanced military (M-Code) coverage and increased resistance to hostile jamming will be incorporated. These enhancements will contribute to improved accuracy and assured availability for military and civilian users worldwide.
ITT will provide the navigation payload, and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems will provide the Network Communications Element (NCE) which includes the UHF Crosslink and Tracking Telemetry & Command (TT&C) subsystems.
Source: Lockheed Martin
