Northrop Wins Contract To Re-Engine the E-8C JSTARS
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, IT, Military Aviation, Northrop Grumman Corp., Services, U.S. Air Force, production program
The U.S. Air Force operates E-8C JSTARS aircraft to survey the ground and provide information to combat commanders on enemy forces and movements. They are converted Boeing 707 aircraft carrying radars and other sensors. The aircraft were used successfully in Desert Storm but were designed to support the defense of Western Europe against the Soviet Union. That threat has obviously passed.
The aircraft were converted by Northrop Grumman at a facility in Florida. They are aging and money is being spent to upgrade the platforms and systems since the replacement E-12 MC2A was canceled a few years ago. Northrop was awarded a contract worth over $200 million to re-engine two of the aircraft. New engines will extend their useful life, improve fuel consumption and increase the range and mission time of the E-8. It is a wise investment of money into these capable and useful platfomrs.
England Awards Initial Contract For Combined Training Site
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.
Sypris To Sell Communications Equipment To U.S. Military
Filed under: Business Line, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, Events, Florida, IT, Services, States, Sypris Solutions, development program, logistics, production program
Sypris Solutions won a contract worth about $200 million to provide keying equipment for radios to the U.S. military. The five year contract will provide key loaders that are used to put cryptographic material into radios “keying” them to receive and transmit. Modern digital communication equipment are present in vehicles, ships, aircraft and man packed radios and most require some level of encryption or frequency keying in order to make them usable on networks.
Sypris will design and fabricate the equipment at their facility in Tampa, FL. The goal is to have a system that is cheaper, lighter and easier-to-use then existing equipment.
Air Force Buys Five Global Hawks
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Congress, Contract Awards, Events, Federal Budget Process, Military Aviation, Northrop Grumman Corp., Services, U.S. Air Force, development program, production program
Despite the debate in Congress over how many Global Hawks could be ordered with the 2010 money the Air Force went ahead and used their Continuing Resolution Authority (CRA) money to buy five. The House had written into their version of the Defense Appropriations bill that only three could be purchased due to concerns with delays in the program. The Senate had said five. The bill currently is in Conference as the two versions are reconciled. It is proving to be a long process as their are several key differences between the two.
Pomerleau To Build New Facility For C-130 Training
Filed under: Business Line, Canada, Companies, Contract Awards, Countries, Events, Lockheed Martin, Military Aviation, logistics, production program, training
The Canadian government has invested in several C-130J transports from Lockheed Martin. These are to improve their tactical and operational mobility. The aircraft are to be built in the United States but the contract has significant offset requirements so that Lockheed will have to spend money in Canada. As part of their plans to stimulate the economy due to the global recession Canada also planned to invest in defense infrastructure and this kind of project is the kind of thing that they proposed doing.
The Ontario based company Pomerleau, Inc received a contract worth about $40 million Canadian to build the facilities to support C-130J aircrew and maintenance training at the Trenton. The hanger based facility will be completed in 2012.
The U.S. military has been able to utilize some of the stimulus bill money from Congress to build or rehabilitate facilities. These seem to be the kind of project that will generate jobs and investment in the local economy. At the same time like Canada they are getting an enhanced capability.
U.S. Army National Guard Buys Off Road Vehicles From Polaris
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, Events, Polaris, Services, logistics, production program
One of the primary missions of the United States Army National Guard (ARNG) is to respond to natural disasters in the fifty states. These include hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes as well as large fires and even blizzards. While much of their standard military equipment may be used for these types of operations they also buy some separate hardware to support those kind of missions. The UH-72A Lakota aircraft is designed to operate primarily in the U.S. and its territories for example and not combat situations.
The ARNG announced that they had given Polaris a contract worth over $2 million to buy four wheel drive off road vehicles to support their disaster relief in the U.S. These 800 trucks will also have the capability to support overseas operations if required. The purchase of these commercially available vehicles also illustrates how the U.S. military is showing some imagination in how the acquire equipment and probably saving the tax payer some money as well.
U.S. Department of Defense Awards Keres Consulting Contract for Environmental Mitigation Support
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, Events, IT, Keres Consulting, Services, logistics
The U.S. Department of Defense has a very strict environmental management program through all facets of its activities. This includes facility maintenance, training activities and systems procurement. As part of this the Department has a program to mitigate the effects of its activities on Native American owned lands. This Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program is managed by the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations & Environment).
DoD awarded Keres Consulting a contract worth $3.5 million to provide support to this effort. A Native American owned company from New Mexico the company is ideally suited for this type of work. Keres main role will be to perform outreach to groups affected by these activities as well as collecting information and making recommendations. The contract is for two years.
Boeing To Continue Support Of The C-17
Filed under: Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, Events, Federal Budget Process, Military Aviation, Services, U.S. Air Force, logistics
Even though the Obama Administration has decided to end production of the C-17 transport aircraft Boeing is still able to make money through modifying and supporting the aircraft. In fact the U.S. Air Force just awarded a contract worth over a billion dollars to the company to do just that. The Air Force provides its own mechanics and has depots but will rely on Boeing for further support including parts, support, logistics management as well as some depot level maintenance.
This is fairly common type of contract to support a system that is utilizing organic military support. If the C-17 used Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) then the contract value would be much higher but the Air Force would not carry the burden of providing mechanics, training and parts.
There is no guarantee that a system’s manufacturer will get this work as there exist plenty of third party companies capable of doing it. The Air Force has the right to choose which ever company makes the best bid. This is more often true after completion of production and fielding. Either way this continues to keep revenue going to Boeing from an existing program in what is looking a like a rough year for the company.
Russia Invests In Sukhoi Aircraft
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Countries, Events, Military Aviation, Russia, Sukhoi, development program, production program
The Russian Federation signed a contract worth over $2.5 billion dollars to purchase sixty-four advanced Sukhoi aircraft. The contract will purchase forty-eight SU-35S, twelve SU-27M and four SU-30M2 aircraft. The contract was so important that Prime Minister Validimir Putin himself announced it.
This is the largest public contract since the fall of the Soviet Union and will lay the foundation for the modern Russian Air Force. In order to complete the deal by 2015 the Russian government is granting Sukhoi money as well as providing financing to begin the production.
Sukhoi has had some success in selling these aircraft to foriegn countries and like every other major defense contractor hopes to do more of such business.
U.S. Department of Defense Buys Gas — Lots Of It
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, DLA, Department of Defense, Events, Services, logistics
The United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) announced today a sheaf of contracts to buy gas. Gas for airplanes, ships, trucks and vehicles. The U.S. military runs on it as it is very heavily mechanized and relies on its helicopters and aircraft for the kind of support many armies would say no to or use artillery for.
World Fuel Services was awarded a contract worth $104.5 million for aviation fuel to support all of the services and Valero also received one worth up to $230 million.
These contracts are good for a year. One of the increasing costs the Department of Defense is facing is the price of oil. As it has gone up and down over the last five years it has forced the Defense Department to adjust its O&M budget. The heavy demand of operations also means that money may have to be moved from procurement accounts to cover these costs. Ideally for good budgeting it would be hoped that the price would stabilize over the year so proper planning can be made.
Cobham Awarded £18m MFTS Contract — Press Release
Filed under: Business Line, Cobham Defense Electronic Systems, Companies, Contract Awards, Countries, England, Events, Military Aviation, Press Releases, logistics, training
Cobham Awarded £18m MFTS Contract
3 August 2009 — Cobham has been awarded a contract worth some £18 million by Ascent Flight Training for the first phase of the United Kingdom Military Flying Training Service (UKMFTS). The contract is for the modification of four special mission Hawker-Beechcraft B350ER King Air aircraft at Cobham Aviation Services facilities at Bournemouth International Airport, and the provision of in-service support for an initial period of five years at RNAS Culdrose.
Stephen Fitz-Gerald, President Cobham Aviation Services Division said “I’m delighted that we can contribute to the provision of training for Royal Naval observers in support of front line operations, using our extensive experience in the operation, modification and maintenance of both fixed wing and rotary aircraft for the UK MoD.”
About Cobham:
Cobham’s products and services have been at the heart of sophisticated military and civil systems for more than 70 years, keeping people safe, improving communications and enhancing the capability of land, sea, air and space platforms. The Company has four divisions employing more than 12,000 people on five continents, with customers and partners in over 100 countries and annual revenue of more than £1.4 billion / US$ 2.1 billion.
Cobham Aviation Services operates more than 150 fixed and rotary wing aircraft internationally. It operates the largest civil maritime surveillance contract in the world and trains all UK helicopter pilots for the Navy, Air Force and Army. The Division provides modern warfare training and essential flight inspection services for civil and military airports in the UK, Europe and beyond, and specialises in the conversion and support of a wide range of civil and military platforms.
Contacts:
Greg Caires Julian Wais
Media Relations Investor Relations
+1 703 414 5319 +44 (0) 1202 857998
greg.caires@cobham.com julian.wais@cobham.com
Egypt To Upgrade Their M1 Tank Fleet
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Egypt, Events, General Dynamics, Services, U.S. Army, logistics, production program
The Egyptian Government moved to buy equipment to upgrade their M1 tank manufacturing line. The tank has been produced their under agreement with the U.S. and General Dynamics. GD signed a contract worth about $45 million to provide the tools, gauges, fixtures and machine tools. This will allow the line to produce an upgraded variant of the tank.
The U.S. has been providing Egypt with significant amounts of modern equipment as part of the aid promised once they signed the peace agreement with Israel. This has extended to aircraft, radars, vehicles and other hardware. There has also been training, maintenance and production help. Prior to this the Egyptians relied on Soviet designed and made equipment as they fought the four wars with Israel between 1948 and 1973.
Finland Lets Large Contract For Air Defense System
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, Finland, Konsberg, Military Aviation, Raytheon, missile defense, production program
The Country of Finland awarded a team of Kongsberg and Raytheon a contract worth about three billion Norwegian Kronor for a complete air defense system. Defpro.daily reports that the system will be based on NASAMS IIs system. This $460 million contract is the largest by the country since it purchased F/A-18 aircraft in the early Nineties.
As it has done in the past Finland is replacing older, Russian equipment with more modern, NATO compliant systems. The new air defense network will offer a significant upgrade in capability over the existing one used by the Finnish military. The NASAMS IIs is based around the AIM-120 air-to-air missile and a Raytheon made radar. It has been purchased by a variety of NATO and Scandinavian countries and was originally developed for Norway.
The contract will allow some of the work to be done in Finland offsetting some of the cost.
Navy Awards Raytheon Contract for More Tomahawk Production
Filed under: Arizona, Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, Raytheon, Services, States, U.S. Navy, production program
The U.S. Navy gave Raytheon a contract worth over $200 million for 207 new Tomahawk Block IV missiles. AzStarBiz reports that a good portion of the work will be carried out in Tucson. The award is a further option to an existing contract that Raytheon has had for several years. The Tomahawk can be launched from either surface ships or submarines and carry out precision strikes on ground targets. The missile is also used by the Royal Navy. The Tomahawk was used heavily in the first Gulf War but due to the proliferation of other precision strike systems launched by aircraft such as the GPS guided JDAM.
Lockheed to Begin Producing Turkish F-16 Aircraft
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, Lockheed Martin, Military Aviation, Services, Turkey, U.S. Air Force, production program
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed a contract worth almost $800 million to produced thirty F-16 aircraft for Turkey. Reuters reports that this is an option on a $2.9 billion contract awarded in 2007 for the aircraft. Previous action on the contract was to purchase long lead materials for the aircraft, and this option begins the actual manufacturing of the fighters. The F-16 aircraft will help modernize the Turkish forces and help with NATO standardization.
USAF Wireless Communication Program Behind Schedule and Over Cost
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Events, General Dynamics, IT, Restructuring, U.S. Air Force
It is not just large development and procurement programs that have schedule and cost problems. The DoD Inspector General recently reviewed an Air Force contract to update and expand the wireless communication capabilities on its facilities. Federal Computer Week reports that the contract is behind schedule and over cost. General Dynamics is the prime contractor on the project. As part of any contract or acquisition the government has to do a cost estimate and review the one and schedule provided by the bidder. Many times the schedule and cost turn out to be unrealistic or inaccurate. Part of that is every program is different and historical examples help but do not necessarily provide insight into the actual program. Other reasons are that the assumptions involved are overly optimistic or unrealistic. This is just a “small” contract worth about $140 million, so on bigger ones the missed estimates just get magnified even more.
U.S. Army Contracts for M2 Parts from BAE
Filed under: BAE Systems, Business Line, Contract Awards, U.S. Army, logistics, production program
The U.S. Army awarded BAE a contract worth over $100 million for repair parts for M2 and M3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. UPI has a short story here about this award. The Army has developed a process where M1 tanks as well as Bradleys and other vehicles are refurbished to return them to almost as good as new status. The vehicles will also receive upgrades and modifications at that time. The BAE parts will support these efforts.
US Awards DE Technologies Contract to Develop Warheads
Filed under: Business Line, Contract Awards, DE Technologies, Events, Pennsylvia, U.S. Navy, development program
The U.S. Navy awarded DE Technologies of Pennsylvania a contract worth up to almost $7 million to work on small shaped charge warheads. The press release is at Your Industry News. The research will aid in the development of larger warheads for use in the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon system. This is a lightweight torpedo type system that would be launched by a ship or submarine and may also have defensive missions. See this at Navy.mil for more.
U.S Navy Buys Eight More Submarines
Filed under: Business Line, Connecticut, Contract Awards, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman Corp., U.S. Navy, Virginia, production program
The U.S Navy awarded General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman a contract worth over $14 billion to buy 8 more Virginia class attack submarines. Bloomberg.com has the report. The Virginia class are the latest attack submarines in the U.S Navy fleet. This order will bring the total to 18 either already delivered or under construction. The companies will split the order and build them at their respective yards in Connecticut and Virginia.
Australia Buys Support for Jet Engines from GE
Filed under: Australia, Business Line, Contract Awards, Florida, GE, Massachusetts, Military Aviation, logistics, production program
The Jacksonville Business Journal writes that Australia has awarded a contract worth over $300 million to provide parts, maintenance and overhaul of the engines for their F/A-18 fleet to General Electric. GE has several other of this type of contract with the U.S. armed forces that utilize their engines in a variety of platforms. Even though the contract is with a foreign country the parts will be shipped to the U.S. for work in Jacksonville, FL and Lynn, MA.
USAF awards satellite support contract
Filed under: Contract Awards, Northrop Grumman Corp., Satellites, U.S. Air Force, missile defense, space
The US Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth over $200 M to support the DSP constellation of satellites. Northrop-Grumman will make sure the satellites are working and provide analysis of the data they collect. The company manufactured the infra-red sensors installed on them. DSP primary mission is to detect the launch of missiles and rockets. They have been used for over thirty years and will eventually be replaced by the SBIRS system.
See the press release at MarketWatch.com.
US Department of Defense contracts for dentists
Filed under: Contract Awards, Department of Defense, logistics, medicine
The DoD awarded United Concordia Companies, Inc. a five year contract worth over $600 M contract to provide dental care for active duty US military members. The contract provides special dental services to US military who have access to a dental clinic on their base, or general services to those who do not. The contract also requires the company to track the dental health of the members to make sure that they meet deployment requirements. The US Military has over the last thirty years moved to out sourcing a great deal of their medical care for retirees, dependents and members due to the growth in requirements and cost.
See a press release at MarketWatch.com.
US awards threat reduction contract for Former Soviet states
Filed under: Black & Veatch, Contract Awards, DTRA, logistics, medicine
Black and Veatch won a contract from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to provide services to Ukraine in the area of defenses against bioterrorism and bio weapon proliferation. The contract is worth $175 M and is part of much larger contract worth up to $4 B. Black and Veatch has worked with DTRA for several years in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) on threat reduction.
For more see The Kansas City Business Journal.
USMC Systems Command awards SETA contrac
Filed under: Contract Awards, SETA, TAIC, U.S. Marine Corps
TAIC was awarded a 10 year contract worth up to $500 M to provide SETA support to the US Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, VA. TAIC will provide technical, engineering and other support to the USMC program offices that develop and procure hardware for the Corps. TAIC team included 18 other companies.
For more see this at www.redorbit.com.
DoD buys vehicle parts management system
Filed under: Contract Awards, DLA, Department of Defense, IT, Lockheed Martin, logistics
Lockheed Martin was awarded yesterday a potential 10 year contract worth over $5 B to set up and manage a system to provide auto parts to the various services. The system will be able to provide, track and ship necessary vehicle parts all over the world to the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. The system will utilize a proprietary software system that Lockheed Martin developed and is currently being used to support aircraft. Despite the size of the award the contract will employ only about thirty personnel.
See the Philadelphia Business Journal for more details.
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