CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
LAND
14 Nov 07. Sniper Rifles: Contract Placed. The Defence Equipment Minister announced (14 Nov 07) that Accuracy International had been awarded a £4m contract for the supply of 580 8.59mm L115A3 sniper rifles with Schmidt & Bender day sights. Deliveries to the MoD are expected to start early in 2008.
The new rifle is being procured as part of the £11m-plus Sniper System Improvement (SSI) programme which includes night sights, spotting ‘scopes, laser range finders and tripods.
Comment: When ‘expressions of interest’ in the SSI programme were first sought, in July 2004, the requirement was for 640 rifles with delivery of the first 220 due by mid-2007. The SSI system is intended to replace the L96A1 7.62mm sniper rifle and ancillaries. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0745, 19 Nov 07)
19 Nov 07. New precision “search and destroy” anti-armour weapon. The Army’s current AS90 guns are to get a sophisticated new weapon that can more accurately seek out and destroy hostile armoured vehicles at long range (up to 22.5 km), day and night, in all weathers and in difficult terrain, such as forests and urban areas. This new smart weapon, the Ballistic Sensor Fused Munition (BSFM), consists of a shell that can be fired from the AS90 artillery gun. Munitions drop by parachute, using sensors to seek out enemy targets as they drift down. This new smart technology will enable the artillery to target the enemy with much greater accuracy and will greatly reduce collateral damage. The £83m contract has been awarded to Gesellschaft fur Intelligente Wirksysteme mbH, (GIWS), of Germany. The new Ballistic Sensor Fused Munition is expected to enter service in 2011.
07 Nov 07. MOWAG GmbH, received an order from Swiss Army for the production of 26 PIRANHA IIIC 8×8 that shall be used as carrier vehicles for the Swiss Army battlefield management system and as communication vehicles. They will be manufactured in Kreuzlingen and delivered in the years 2010 and 2011.
SEA
14 Nov 07. PrismTech™ signed a significant deal with Thales Naval for its OpenSplice™ DDS middleware. Under the terms of the deal PrismTech will provide Thales Naval with Software Licenses and Professional Services for the OpenSplice DDS middleware which is underpinning Thales Combat Management systems and naval applications including its flagship TACTICOS Net Centric Solution. This new deal announced today extends the existing PrismTech / Thales strategic relationship by extending the licenses to world-wide Naval operations of Thales.
20 Nov 07. WFS Ltd has won a £280k ($600k) contract through the MoD UK Competition of Ideas for the development of a Sensing Net. The project is based on leading edge technology developed in the UK by WFS. WFS has emerged as the world leader in a growing market for underwater and underground RF based communications, sensing and navigation following several years of investment in new technology. Advances in electronics design and signal processing make it possible to reconsider the basic science of electro-magnetics as an aid to underwater sensing. The programme focuses on remote sensing of underwater intrusion. An intruder crossing through the Sensing Net would be almost instantly detected and its characteristic size, movement and direction would trigger closer investigation to determine the exact nature of the threat.
USA
LAND
20 Nov 07. CSI Armoring, Miami, Fla., was awarded on Nov. 15, 2007, a delivery order amount of $7,792,502 as part of a $7,792,502 firm-fixed-price contract for Armored Sport Utility Vehicles. Work will be performed in Miami, Fla., and is expected to be completed by May 24, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 6 bids solicited on Aug. 13, 2007, and 14 bids were received. The Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, is the contracting activity GS-07F-08-0001.
15 Nov 07. General Dynami