EUROPE
27 Sep 05. Typhoon Targeting Pod: Ultra Electronics Selected. Ultra Electronics Holdings has been selected to supply and support airborne laser targeting pods for RAF Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. Ultra is expected to be appointed prime contractor with Rafael (Israel) acting as the main sub-contractor. The initial contract for 20 pods is anticipated to be worth about 15m. Comment: Rafael is the design authority for the Litening III targeting pod which assists aircrews to locate, recognise and track surface targets and to designate weapon impact points. As at 27 Sep 05 17 Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft had been delivered to the RAF, comprising 11 Block 1 standard and 6 Block 2 standard. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 05/37, 03 Oct 05)
USA
04 Oct 05. DRS Technologies, was awarded a $45.5m contract to provide rugged Appliqué Computer Systems and peripheral equipment for the U.S. Army’s FBCB2 program. These systems will support U.S. Army and Marine Corps units engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Installed on M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, DRS’s Appliqué Computer Systems will support the Army’s Blue Force Tracking requirements, which include beyond line-of-sight reporting and tracking, as well as significant improvements in vertical and horizontal information integration for incorporation into the military’s overall battlefield visualization efforts.
05 Oct 05. DRS Technologies, Inc. received $46m in initial funding to produce Thermal Binocular System Tactical Range Thermal Imagers under a competitively awarded, five-year contract valued at $660m, including options, for the U.S. Marine Corps. The Tactical Range Thermal Imagers are lightweight, hand-held, battery-operated, infrared binoculars used by the military for long-range observation and reconnaissance. This new program establishes DRS as a major supplier of hand-held thermal imaging devices. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded to DRS by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM), Infantry Weapons Branch, in Quantico, Virginia. For the initial award, DRS will deliver more than 3,800 systems. The company will produce in excess of 28,000 systems over the life of the contract, if all options are exercised.The company’s DRS Optronics unit in Palm Bay, Florida, DRS Infrared Technologies unit in Dallas, Texas, and DRS Nytech Imaging Systems unit in Irvine, California, will perform all work associated with this contract.Product deliveries are expected to be completed by September 2010.
28 Sep 05. DRS Technologies, Inc. has been competitively awarded a $31m contract, representing initial funding on a contract valued at $194m over the next five years, to provide Joint Tactical Terminals (JTTs) under the U.S. Army’s Joint Tactical Terminal-Integrated Broadcast Service (JTT-IBS) program. The JTTs will provide war fighters throughout the armed services with near real-time tactical intelligence and targeting information. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract was awarded to DRS by the U.S. Army’s Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Product deliveries will commence in nine months.
07 Oct 05. DRS Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a new contract to provide the missile launch system on the TOW Weapons System for the U.S. Army’s M2A3 Bradley vehicle program.
30 Sep 05. Rockwell Collins has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for Phases II, III and IV of the KG-3X Cryptographic Modernization program, taking the program from system design completion through low-rate initial production and full-rate production & deployment. KG-3X Cryptographic Modernization is designed to provide the U.S. military with assured, survivable, protected and highly reliable strategic communications for airborne portions of the Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network (MEECN) as well as the Fixed Su