USAF awards satellite support contract

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.

Marines order more rockets and their launchers

Talley Inc, owned now by the Norwegian company Nammo, won a contract from the USMC to develop a launcher for 83mm rockets. The current system has been in use since 1984. The ammunition, currently produced by Talley, will remain the same, but a new system for firing the rockets from a Marine’s shoulder will be developed. The contract is for an initial buy of 146 launchers and 900 rounds of ammunition. Talley has produced over 40,000 rounds of this type. Nammo purchased the company last year as a way in to the US defense market.

See The Arizona Republic business site, here, for more on this contract.