01 May 03. DARPA has issued Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Integrated Systems sector an undefinitized contract modification worth up to $160m to produce and demonstrate a minimum of two full-scale X-47B unmanned combat air
vehicles (UCAV). The X-47Bs will demonstrate the technical and operational feasibility of using a UAV to conduct U.S. Navy missions from an aircraft carrier. Northrop Grumman will also demonstrate how a UCAV can be used to satisfy U.S. Air Force mission requirements. The award is a modification to the company’s current Phase IIA UCAV agreement. It marks the beginning of Phase IIB of the Naval UCAV advanced technology effort. Over the next 90 days, Northrop Grumman will develop a detailed cost and development schedule for the program,
which is expected to run through 2006.
23 Apr 03. Raytheon Company’s Space and Airborne Systems was awarded an $8m cost plus fixed fee contract to design and demonstrate the world’s first Synthetic Aperture LADAR (Laser Radar) Tactical Imager (SALTI). SALTI will provide the first airborne optical synthetic imagery capability to the warfighter. It will provide improved clarity of electro-optic wavelengths for imaging targets and will not suffer from the normal glint returns associated with common X-band synthetic aperture radar. SALTI promises to provide essential standoff and target identification to manned and unmanned airborne platforms with unprecedented resolution.
06 May 03. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Space Technology sector has received a U.S. Air Force contract for the first phase of a three-year program to develop the Strategic Illuminator Laser, or SILL – a four-kilowatt-class, solid-state, pulsed laser with excellent beam quality. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force.
01 May 03. The U.S. Air Force has exercised a contract option by awarding Lockheed Martin $117.6m to add one F/A-22 aircraft and associated equipment to the Lot 3 Low Rate Initial Production contract awarded earlier last month. This brings the number of F/A-22s to be procured in Lot 3 to 21 aircraft and moves the total number of production F/A-22s ordered thus far to 44 jets.
01 May 03. The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Ship Systems sector a contract to evaluate the performance of composite structures in
high-speed vessel hull forms and displacements. The Composite High-Speed Vessel project, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, will continue the development of composites as a primary structural material. The return on investment for the Navy is reduced life cycle costs from lowered maintenance, reduced weight and improved stealth characteristics. The value of the contract
is $15.1m.
08 May 03-. Synergy has been selected to provide single-board computers (SBCs) for the Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS) for the Predator UAV. The contract award is the most recent in a long history of design wins for the engineering firm, which specializes in the development of high-performance single-board computers (SBCs) for use in high-reliability, real-time systems — a large number of which are used by the military.
25 Apr 03. Lockheed Martin Corp., Manassas, Va., is being awarded a $228,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification to add three one-year ordering options for the purchase of Defense Message System products and services. The Air Force can issue delivery orders totalling up to maximum amount indicated above, though actual requirements may necessitate less than this amount. Funds will be obligated as individual orders are issued. This work will be complete October 2006. Negotiations were completed April 2003. The Standard Systems Group, Maxwell Air Force Base, Gunter Annex, Ala., is the contracting activity (F01620-95-D-0001, P00225).
25 Apr 03. McDonnell Douglas Corp. is being awarded a $39,999,000 indefinite-delivery/inde