Cray Wins Three New Computer Contracts

February 25, 2010 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Cray, Events, IT, Services, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, development program

Cray announced that it had been awarded a contract to provide three new computers to parts of the U.S. Defense Department. The value of the award will be $45 million. The computers will be provided to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), U.S. Army and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center.

Cray had been struggling recently with the decision by the Defense Advanced Research Products Agency (DARPA) to cancel a contract with Cray to provide computers and support. That program was scaled back and its loss cost Cray about $60 million in revenue. That decision seriously impacted future projections but much of that will be made up for with this contract.

Tags: 60 million, afrl, air force research, arctic region supercomputing center, Cray, DARPA, force research laboratory, new computers, u s army

Defense Solutions Holding Hits The Big Time

February 1, 2010 by Matthew Potter · 1 Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Countries, Defense Systems Holding, Iraq, Services, logistics, production program

There are lots of little defense contractors who are started by people wanting more then just working for another company. They usually start with one or two small sub-contracts and work to establish a reputation or an opportunity to bid as a prime on a larger contract. This business model has been highly successful for the last thirty years. Of course for every company that makes it several do not.

The small defense contractor, Defense Solutions Holding, Inc, has had some luck in winning logistic support contracts in Iraq and other countries. Revenue in 2009 was on track to be under $2 million. They just announced that they have won a contract to provide foodstuffs to the Iraqi Government in a deal worth over $60 million if all options are exercised.

This is a major growth for a company this size and illustrates well how the business can work.

Tags: 60 million, business model, Contract Awards, defense contractor, defense contractors, foodstuffs, iraqi government, last thirty years, logistic support, reputation, support contracts

Cray Demonstrates One Customer May Not Be Enough

January 13, 2010 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: BNET

Cray (CRAY) announced that the DARPA told them a major contract would be reduced by $60 million. This will severely impact their revenue and...

Tags: 60 million, BNET Government Industry, Cray, DARPA

England Awards Initial Contract For Combined Training Site

January 12, 2010 by Matthew Potter · 1 Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Countries, England, Events, QinetiQ, logistics, training

The English government has ambitious plans to not only centralize their technical training but also privatize it. The goal is to save money within the defense budget. The consortium that is planned to construct and operate the new training site was awarded an initial contract worth almost $60 million to begin site preparation. The Metrix consortium which includes the British company QinetiQ will use this contract to move an existing Royal Air Force (RAF) school and begin demolition of existing buildings. Eventually the total program will be worth billions as the schools are established and classes taught.

The idea is fairly novel and controversial. In the United States for example they are moving away from contractor provided services by insourcing positions to civil service. They believe that this will save money in the long run. It will be interesting to compare how these two different paths work out over the next few decades.

Tags: 60 million, ambitious plans, civil service, contract worth, defense budget, different paths, english government, initial contract, raf, worth billions

Boeing’s United States Tanker: Always Remember the Customer

October 21, 2009 by Boeing United States Tanker · Comment
Filed under: KC-X, KC-X Tanker News, Syndicated Industry News

A key part of building a good proposal and running a smart acquisition campaign is to always remember the customer. That's not very tough on KC-X. We see the U.S. Air Force working very hard to fly and maintain their current fleet of KC-135 air refueling tankers each day and realize they must have a new tanker as soon as possible. I just read a posting in Air Force Magazine's Daily Report eNewsletter ("Afghan Surge Prompts Mobility Records") describing the service's record breaking efforts in Afghanistan that tells it all. According to the story, USAF mobility forces have set records for cargo airdropped (4.1 million pounds in September). On the tanker side, approximately 80 million pounds of fuel was offloaded last month compared to 60 million pounds way back in February. For those of you who have served in the Air Mobility Command, this type of surge is not new but still very impressive. Whether it's the planners at the Tanker Airlift Control Center managing the global movement of aircraft or the aircrews and maintainers keeping it all on schedule despite some difficult challenges, it is very clear how important the U.S. Air Force is to keeping America safe and projecting our nation's reach. Read more at United States Tanker

Tags: 60 million, air mobility command, aircrews, airlift, global movement, KC-135, KC-X, KC-X Tanker News, mobility forces, tanker airlift control center, u s air, u s air force

Raytheon to Upgrade Radars on F-18 Aircraft

May 28, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, IT, Military Aviation, Raytheon, Services, U.S. Navy, production program

The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a contract to retrofit new AN/APG-79 advanced radars on older F-18 aircraft. The APG-79 is an advanced, electronic beam scanning radar. This allows the radar to be steered digitally rather then mechanically like older systems. The radar provides a more reliable, higher resolution and longer range system then previous equipment.

The contract is worth almost $60 million and will be installed on F-18E/F Super Hornets already in service with the Navy. Raytheon has been providing the APG-79 to Boeing as it delivers the new aircraft over the last few years. 134 radars have been provided for new construction and with this contract 38 total aircraft will be retrofitted. The current plan is to retrofit 133 existing aircraft.

Tags: 60 million, acct, apg, aspx, Boeing, hornets, new aircraft, prnewswire, radar, Raytheon, u s navy

U.S.M.C. Buys Tactical Trailers

March 18, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Congress, Contract Awards, Events, Federal Budget Process, Services, U.S. Marine Corps, logistics, production program

Recently the U.S. government purchased tactical cargo trailers from Mercedes Benz and Oshkosh. The U.S.M.C. just announced that they bought 724 trailers from the Native American firm Choctaw Manufacturing. The McAlester News-Capital reports that this contract is worth over $60 million. Native American owned companies receive priority when it comes to winning contracts. Some tribal organizations partner with existing contractors to develop capability and get work. Others, like the Choctaws here, invest in a facility and then use that to get contracts.

Tags: 60 million, capability, cargo trailers, choctaw, choctaws, Contract Awards, mcalester news capital, mercedes benz, oshkosh, priority, tribal organizations

ICF International Wins ID/IQ Award for Up To $60M with the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

March 19, 2010 by Business Wire Defense: Contracts News · Comment
Filed under: Syndicated Industry News

FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ICF International, (NASDAQ:ICFI), a leading provider of consulting services and technology solutions to government and commercial clients, was recently selected as a prime contractor for a three-year, multiple-award contract, with a ceiling of approximately $60 million, by the Army Research Institute (ARI). Through this new, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) agreement, ICF will conduct research and analyses, attitude and opinion surveys, and studies as