EUROPE
LAND
05 Jul 07. Bases in Afghanistan and Iraq set to receive better overhead protection. Base fortification specialist Hesco Bastion is close to finalising negotiations with UK and US armed forces to provide overhead protection at a variety of temporary camps in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and US Department of Defense (DoD) are conducting contract talks with Hesco, Jane’s has learnt, to procure its Military Shelter for forward operating and other bases. (Source: Jane’s)
26 Jul 07. The U.K. Ministry of Defence has today announced the intention to purchase a new deployable 2 Star Divisional Level Headquarters, which will lead the Regional Command Centre South in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
27 Jul 07. General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited has been selected as a preferred bidder for the Assessment Phase of the LISTENER programme. LISTENER will network a number of UK intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) systems with US / NATO allies and automatically fuse sensor data in order to rapidly create actionable intelligence for commanders. LISTENER is a pioneering project in the delivery of UK Network Enabled Capability. The Assessment Phase (AP) is a 10-month, £1m funded programme which will concentrate on system solution definition and risk reduction in preparation for Main Gate, scheduled for 2009. A number of technology options will be evaluated by the General Dynamics UK LISTENER team during the AP including elements of the US Network Centric Collaborative Targeting (NCCT) capability. Contract award for the AP is expected by September 2007. The General Dynamics UK team for the LISTENER AP is led by its Mission Systems business unit based in Hastings, England and also incorporates: EADS DS (UK), Systems Consultants Services (SCS) Ltd, VEGA Group PLC, Marshall Solutions, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
18 Jul 07. IDF gives go-ahead for Namer APC production. The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has launched its Namer (Tiger) heavy armoured personnel carrier (APC) programme, issuing an initial requirement for 15 vehicles in 2008. Based on the Merkava Mk 3/4 main battle tank (MBT) chassis, the Namer will be produced by the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Merkava Project Administration (Mantak) and is planned to become the IDF’s leading infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). (Source: Jane’s)
26 Jul 07. Plextek Limited, the Cambridge-based electronics and communications design consultancy has been awarded approximately £300,000 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the first contract awarded by its “Competition of Ideas” initiative. The contract permits Plextek to research an MoD proposal for innovative technology which will allow improved communications between military vehicles and convoys.
05 Jul 07. Poland moves to acquire AGLs for ISAF forces. The Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) is to receive 40 mm automatic grenade launchers (AGLs) as part of an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) for its deployment in Afghanistan. Operating in the Paktika and Ghazni provinces as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Polish armed forces will receive 20 General Dynamics Mk19 Mod 3 AGLs via IMS Griffin as well as a further 20 systems donated by the Israel Defence Forces. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)
SEA
26 Jul 07. New defuelling facility for Britain’s submarines. A new facility for defuelling decommissioned nuclear-powered attack submarines will be constructed at Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth. More than £150m will be invested in the facility which, when complete, will enable the MoD to restart its programme of de-fuelling nuclear-powered boats in 2012.
21 Jul 07. Norway gives go-ahead for series production of NSM missile. Norway’s Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) has awarded Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA) a long-awaited contract for series production of the NSM (Nye Sjomalsmissiler, or Naval