EUROPE
LAND
Oct 06. RS Components announces a three year contract worth £15m to supply Thales, an international electronics and systems group serving the defence, aerospace, security and services markets worldwide.
25 Oct 06. Major boost for Armed Forces Communications Infrastructure. Inteq has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Corsham Development Project, part of a programme, costing approximately £800m, will rebuild, refurbish and manage state-of-the-art communication facilities at Corsham in Wiltshire. Over the next 25 years this project will assist the delivery of modern communications for our Armed Forces when they deploy around the world on operations such as peacekeeping, sea lane protection, intelligence gathering, counter narcotics and humanitarian aid operations.
SEA
Oct 06. Thales has been awarded a contract by Armaris for the development and manufacture of ARTEMIS for the French Navy’s multi-role frigate (FREMM); it is the first ARTEMIS contract awarded to Thales. The contract includes the design, manufacture, trials, acceptance and initial support of IRST systems for up to 17 French Navy FREMM frigates. (See NEW TECHNOLOGIES below)
AIR
20 Oct 06. Turk Air Force Opts for JSF Over Eurofighter. Turkey’s Air Force has selected the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), now called the Lightning II, over Europe’s Eurofighter Typhoon for the NATO nation’s 15-year, $10bn program to buy about 100 new-generation fighter aircraft, Turkish procurement and military officials said. Although the Air Force, as the user, is not the sole authority for a final decision, its position is dominant and backed by the powerful General Staff, analysts said. “Although this decision is not official yet, we can say that Turkey’s JSF move is almost final, after the Air Force has clarified its position,” said one defense analyst in Ankara. In the past few months, the selection process had been narrowed down to a choice between buying all JSFs and a mixed buy of the JSF and the Typhoon. But the Air Force, whose fighter fleet is exclusively of U.S. design and which follows a strong American tradition, has opted for an all-JSF solution, the officials said. (Source: Defense News)
23 Oct 06. The U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has selected Data Link Solutions (DLS) to supply Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) Low Volume Terminals (LVT) for Hellenic Air Force F-16 aircraft. MIDS-LVT provides a secure, high-capacity, jam-resistant digital data and voice communications capability. The $6.2m award, the Hellenic Air Force’s first order for MIDS airborne terminals, makes Greece the seventh country to choose DLS for its F-16 fighter requirements. It augments a recent $34m competitive award for MIDS terminals for use by U.S. and coalition forces. DLS was selected for the Foreign Military Sales award on the basis of past performance on U.S. contracts, price, and schedule.
USA
LAND
20 Oct 06. DRS Technologies, Inc. has received approximately $10m in new orders to produce Deployable Power Generation and Distribution Systems (DPGDS) for the
U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. The DPGDS are air-transportable electrical power generation and distribution systems that can be configured to provide power in support of military and humanitarian missions. Such missions can range from supporting small, isolated outposts to supporting fully operational, forward-deployed U.S. military bases.
Oct 06. DRS Technologies, Inc. has received a $12m order to produce Knight(tm) Precision Targeting Systems, mission equipment electronic units, cupolas and cables, and integrate the complete vehicle packages into more than 60 U.S. Army M1117 Armored Security Vehicles. The order was received by DRS from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan. Work for this order will be accomplished by the company’s DRS Sustainment Systems unit, located in St. Louis, Mi