CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
LAND
20 Sep 07. Bott has won a significant order with a major Bristol-based aerospace company to fit out 21 workshops within their new production facility. The order will see Bott provide further storage and workspace equipment for a new engineering test centre and materials laboratory. The new building will become the main test centre and production facility for defence aircraft parts, including components of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Bott will spend one week fitting out a 1,250 sq ft work area consisting of 21 separate workshops, inspection and storage rooms after quoting through its regional distributor, Axis South West.
12 Sep 07. Rapier Field Standard C (FSC): Maintenance Contract. The MoD announced (12 Sep 07) that a contract has been signed with MBDA to maintain the Rapier FSC Air Defence System operated by 16 Regiment, Royal Artillery, for 13 years. MBDA had earlier (11 Sep 07) given the value of the contract as £156m and confirmed that Rapier FSC’s out of service date is 2020.
Comment: The export version of Rapier FSC, which entered British service in 1996, is known as Jernas. Matra BAe Dynamics (now MBDA) was awarded a support contract for the UK’s earlier Rapier variant (Field Standard B2) in April 2000.
(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0736, 17 Sep 07)
Sep 07. One of the Ministry of Defence’s most successful Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects reaches a milestone later this month when the 350th new piece of plant under the Ministry of Defence’s C Vehicle Capability programme is delivered. The C Vehicles programme is managed by ALC, which is a joint venture between Amey plc and VT Group. Having started in May last year, the £500m, 15-year contract has already made considerable progress in revamping and upgrading the large fleet of construction and field mechanical handling plant. Over the next two years, the bulk of the fleet will be renewed with some 4,000 units being reduced by almost half as better utilisation and support techniques are introduced.
19 Sep 07. QinetiQ led team wins Deep Fire Rocket Systems contract. QinetiQ, as lead contractor for a team of UK-based companies, has secured a 27-month contract worth over £1.5m, to provide customer intelligence to the MOD on Deep Fire Rocket Systems (DFRS) ahead of the anticipated 2025 in service timeframe.
12 Sep 07. VT Communications (VTC) has enhanced its capability in providing IT services to the defence sector after the start of a new Communication Information Systems contract for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), known as MoD CIS. The work will involve a comprehensive range of services extending from procurement to installation and commissioning of LANs and will span a three-year period. VTC is already a major supplier of communications services to the MoD, including rationalising and upgrading the UK Armed Forces HF facilities, through the Defence High Frequency Communications Service (DHFCS). The VT Group subsidiary is the selected provider of IT managed services for the forthcoming Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) and Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programmes, which are expected to reach contract close by the end of this year.
SEA
12 Sep 07. HMSML GLEANER: Ship Life Extension Period (SLEP). The Defence Contract Bulletin (12 Sep 07) records the need for HMSML to undergo a SLEP. Invitations to tender for the work are expected to be issued on 1 Oct 07.
Comment: GLEANER is the smallest vessel in the Fleet and the only one with the prefix HMSML (Her Majesty’s Survey Motor Launch). The ship’s length is 16 metres and her complement only eight, whose task is mainly to survey the UK’s inshore areas. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0736, 17 Sep 07)
AIR
10 Sep 07. Skyquest Aviation has been awarded a design and supply contract for airborne camera and closed circuit television systems on the Royal Air Force’s tanker variant TriStar aircraft. The contract was award