EUROPE
LAND
13 Nov 06. SELEX Communications announced an agreement for SELEX Communications to use PrismTech’s Spectra(TM) Tools for the development and deployment of their software-defined radio (SDR) product line. SELEX Communications is involved in the Italian program for SDR and also participates in international SDR programs such as MIDS and JTRS. The company’s R&D activities on SDR began in 2002 when a program funded by the Italian Ministry of Defense and SELEX Communications was established with the aim to develop an SDR family of products that would replace existing radios and run legacy and future waveforms.
SEA
10 Nov 06. Saft has strengthened its position as the world’s leading developer and supplier of high-technology torpedo propulsion batteries by winning three major contracts for Silver-zinc (Ag-Zn) torpedo batteries for the German, Norwegian and South Korean navies. The contracts, to be carried out by Saft’s specialized production facility in Poitiers, France, include: rechargeable batteries for the German Navy’s DM2A3 and DM2A4 training exercise torpedoes; primary batteries for the Norwegian navy’s DM2A3 combat torpedoes; reserve batteries for the South Korean Navy’s SUT combat torpedoes. All these batteries are designed for torpedoes manufactured by ATLAS Elektronik GmbH.
AIR
15 Nov 06. The UK MoD has awarded BAE Systems a contract worth £5.4m to combine scheduled maintenance of Typhoon aircraft with the current upgrade programme already underway at BAE Systems in Warton. By combining both the scheduled maintenance and the upgrade programme into one, six additional aircraft can potentially be made available for front line duties, delivering both increased efficiency and effectiveness to the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF). The Whole Aircraft Scheduled Maintenance and Upgrade programme, named WASMU for ease, represents the first contractual step of the Typhoon Partnered Support programme and paves the way for BAE Systems to deploy further support capability to the RAF’s front line Typhoon Unit. The contract supports the underlying principles behind the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy by strengthening through-life support and ensuring continued sovereign capability.
14 Nov 06. Department of Defense and Netherlands Sign Next Stage Joint Strike Fighter Agreement. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and the Netherlands Deputy Secretary for Defence Cees van der Knaap signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to begin future cooperation in the production, sustainment, and follow-on development (PSFD) phase of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. The PSFD MOU provides a framework for future JSF Program efforts in production and beyond, and will extend cooperation beyond the current JSF System Development and Demonstration MOU among the United States and the other eight JSF partner nations, the United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Australia. The Netherlands joined the SDD MOU in June 2002, and has been part of the JSF program since 1997. This agreement further strengthens the commitment between the United States and The Netherlands as the JSF program moves forward into the production and support phase. It will also impact across the entire spectrum of the US-Dutch defense relationship in terms of air dominance, interoperability, defense transformation, modernization, cost reduction, acquisition excellence, and the health of U.S and Dutch industrial bases.
USA
LAND
14 Nov 06. Armor Holdings, Inc. announced the receipt of $32.1m in delivery orders on existing contracts with the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP). The Company stated that these delivery orders include $26m for Outer Tactical Vests and components as well as $6.1m for Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment (MOLLE). Production work on these delivery orders will be performed in 2007 by the Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense