CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF

EUROPE

LAND

30 Oct 07. Allison Transmission, Inc. has contracted with BAE Systems, Land Systems (Weapons & Vehicles) in the UK for an additional 400 X200-4C cross drive transmissions and support equipment for delivery over the next three years. This purchase is valued at over $38m. Combining all X200-4C contracts for this application, the total number of repowered UK FV430s is 949 vehicles. The X200-4C is the latest version of the combat proven Allison X200 Series. The X200 is a four speed fully automatic cross drive transmission featuring integral hydrostatically controlled differential steer and power assisted internal multiplate wet disk brakes. The features of the X200-4C minimize driver training and maximize vehicle performance. The X200-4C electronically controlled cross drive transmission provides on board diagnostics in additional to exceptional durability and reliability.

26 Oct 07. General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited has been awarded a contract for the Assessment Phase of the UK Ministry of Defence’s LISTENER programme. LISTENER is a pioneering programme that will join a number of UK intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) systems with coalition partners who can fuse sensor data to create rapid and actionable intelligence for commanders. The LISTENER Assessment Phase is a 10-month, £1m funded programme that will concentrate on system solution definition and risk reduction activities for Main Gate approval in 2009.

AIR

Oct 07. C-17 Transport Aircraft: Purchase Arrangements. DE&S News (October 2007) clarified the C-17 Globemaster purchase arrangements and delivery schedule. The four aircraft in service with 99 Squadron RAF are to be bought at the end of their seven-year lease periods in June, July, August and September 2008. The fifth aircraft is in final assembly in California and on course to meet an in-service date of May 2008. A sixth C-17 is expected to enter service in late 2008/early 2009.
Comment: The lease of the first four C-17 from Boeing was started in 2001 for seven years, with the option of extending for up to a further two years. The estimated cost of the leasing arrangement was £769m as at
31 Mar 04. On 4 Aug 06 it was announced that the four aircraft were to be bought off-lease and a fifth purchased. Purchase of a sixth C-17 was announced on 26 Jul 07. Up-to-date costs are “commercially sensitive” although the MoD has recently (5 Jul 07) stated that the “indicative cost of a C-17 is around $220m”. The original four aircraft are expected to remain in RAF service until 2031. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0742, 29 Oct 07)

Oct 07. Sula Systems has won a competitive bid to provide technical support to the UK MoD’s newly formed DE&S Helicopter Strategy Team in planning the acquisition of Future Lift Capability for UK armed forces. Sula will be advising on the development of overall strategy and the commercial implications related to the evolution of the UK helicopter fleet for the next 25 years. The tasks are all focused on preparation for Initial Gate and Main Gate decision points. The work will cover assessment of all options from mid-life upgrades to new platforms and includes cost benefit analysis, closely integrated with the capability analysis being provided by Dstl. Final outputs will include requirements documentation, a cost appraisal report and a decision support tool.

USA

LAND

30 Oct 07. Harris Corporation has been awarded a $7.7m indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide its RF-7800W Broadband Ethernet Radio system to the U.S. Marine Corps to deliver high-bandwidth data networking capability closer to the battlefield.The RF-7800W extends Harris Corporation’s leadership in tactical command and control communications for ground forces by providing wireless backbone connections between higher-level command posts and their forward-operating bases at data rates in excess of