CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
LAND
26 Jul 07. ABRO were approached by the Spanish Military in October 2006 looking at the possibility of refurbishing and supplying an FH-70 Towed Howitzer for 155mm calibre ammunition trials. The green light for the project was given in March 2007 and on Thursday 26 July, the Spanish Military received the fully refurbished gun from ABRO. Witham’s Specialist Vehicles, an approved contractor for the Disposal Sales Agency were in the process of cutting up 14 guns deemed as scrap. Luckily, ABRO managed to purchase two of these for the project and the old guns were stripped and parts used or refurbished to make one fully serviceable gun. This was a one-off project and further demonstrates ABRO’s reactive response in carrying out specialist work in small quantities and at short notice in support of the UK Armed Forces and allies.
Sep 07. AWS wins Racal contract. AWS Electronics has signed a contract worth GBP1m to supply Racal Acoustics with over-moulded cable assemblies for use in the latest-generation headsets used by armed forces worldwide to enable communications in noisy environments across the full range of military vehicles. AWS Electronics is part of AWS Group, one of the UK’s leading specialist electronic manufacturing services providers, which delivers services for the complete electronic product lifecycle from design through manufacture, to contract service and repair. (Source: Jane’s)
10 Sep 07. NATO has confirmed its confidence in i2’s Analyst’s Notebook and iBridge software by ordering further licences. The software will be used to enhance the solutions already deployed across the Alliance including the headquarters in Afghanistan.
05 Sep 07. Patrol Vehicles: Contract Signature. The Defence Equipment Minister announced (5 Sep 07) that a £30m contract has been signed with DML “for a number of weapons-mounted patrol vehicles” for use in Afghanistan. The Mobility Weapons Mounted Installation Kit (MWMIK) vehicles carry up to three soldiers and can be fitted with a range of weapons.
Comment: On 25 Jun 07 the MoD announced that 130 MWMIK vehicles are to be bought for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, with deployment starting “early in 2008”. At the time no financial details of the transaction were released. Iraq was not mentioned in the more recent announcement.(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0735, 10 Sep 07) (See: BATTLESPACE MILITARY VEHICLE NEWS Vol. 6 Issue 4
30 Jun 2007, DVD DAY 1 ISSUE, DVD NEWS, MWMIK ORDER SUSTAINS DML DRIVE TO DEVELOP MILITARY VEHICLE SEGMENT By Julian Nettlefold, Editor, BATTLESPACE)
12 Sep 07. In an ongoing Iridium® effort to supply critical communications to military organizations around the world, the Swedish Armed Forces has purchased Iridium satellite services for the newly formed Nordic Battle Group. Service is scheduled to be activated at the end of 2007. Through this offering, and riding on the strength of Iridium’s seamless global network, Iridium will provide unmatched service quality and worldwide reach to this important defense organization. The Iridium satellite services are being supplied under a service agreement with IDG Europe AB. They will be used for a wide range of voice and data communications applications.
11 Sep 07. SMITHS Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, has been awarded a contract to supply up to 50 Lightweight Chemical Detectors (LCD) to the German Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement, BWB, for use by the German Army. The LCD, which can detect a wide range of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals, has been designed as a compact, wearable detector that provides personal protection for troops. Germany has become the first European country to specify a new variant of the LCD that allows users to see an identification of the deadly agent displayed on a screen, when the unit alarms. (Source: ASD Network)
SEA
Sep 07. Frazer-Nash announce