EUROPE
LAND
09 Dec 05. France awards BOA demonstrator contract to Thales, Giat Inrance awards BOA demonstrator contract to Thales, Giat Industries and Sagem Défense Sécurité. The French defence ministry on 8 December 2005 announced the award by the French defence procurement agency (Délégation Générale de l’Armement) of the concept design and demonstrator contract for the BOA1 cooperative fighting system to Thales, Giat Industries and Sagem Défense Sécurité, the members of a partnership formed for this programme. nLaunched by the French defence minister at the international Eurosatory show in 2004, this advanced study programme will introduce new concepts of network-centric warfighting as a response to the close combat needs of the French Army over the coming decades. It combines the key assets in the air-land theatre – mounted and dismounted combat elements supported by unmanned ground and air vehicles – to increase the operational tempo, improve the effectiveness of units on the ground and provide them with better protection, and allow commanders to be in control in all situations. The contract is valued at €129mi and includes work to be conducted over the next seven years in three interdependent areas: – Establishment of the DGA’s first integrated battlelab (LTO2), a collaborative development tool that will be used by the procurement agency, operational personnel and industry partners to analyse land forces missions, capitalise on feedback, define operational requirements on an ongoing basis and support design and modelling in a realistic synthetic environment to develop the architectures and force system that correspond to those requirements.
– A “system of systems” engineering study to identify advanced architectures and technologies for the French Army’s future close combat system.
– Design and development of the TACTIC3 network-enabled architecture and technology demonstrator for close combat in the air-land theatre (infantry, armoured vehicles, unmanned vehicles, unattended or remotely deployed sensors, all networked by a communication and information system). The TACTIC demonstrator will be used for operational evaluation of the capability gains provided by the BOA concept (collective protection, situational awareness, indirect fire, etc.) under conditions representative of a joint regimental-level operation (GTIA4)
Opportunities are expected to be sought for cooperation between this major French programme and similar undertakings by other countries.
09 Dec 05. The Danish Army Materiel Command (DAMC) and MOWAG GmbH – a General Dynamics company – signed a contract for the delivery of 85 units plus a small number for training and logistic reserve EAGLE IV 4×4 Armoured Patrol Vehicles (APV), including initial logistic support and services with a total value of close to 50 Million Swiss Francs (approx. US$38m). After five contracts for EAGLE I 4×4 and PIRANHA III 8×8 between 1995 and 2004, this contract adds the latest development of the Swiss company to the fleet of MOWAG vehicles operated by the Danish Army. In May 2005 the Danish Army Materiel Command (DAMC) had announced the procurement Program for new Danish Army Armoured Patrol Vehicles. Key requirements included the ability to carry 5 people, be fitted with an Overhead Weapon Station and provide ballistic and mine protection to the crew and engine compartment.
AIR
13 Dec 05. The UK MoD has awarded an innovative contract worth some £130m to BAE Systems for Combined Maintenance and Upgrade work on the Royal Air Force’s Fleet of Tornado GR4 aircraft. The contract underlines the MOD’s commitment to providing value-for-money on behalf of the taxpayer. Under the ten-year contract, BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support, the original equipment manufacturer, will be responsible to the Tornado IPT for the delivery of Combined Maintenance and Upgrade (CMU) work at RAF Marham. This will deliver significant savings consistent with the MOD Defence Logistics