CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF

EUROPE

LAND

28 Mar 08. A new process for developing User Requirements Documents (URD) which will ensure greater clarity of military requirements to industry suppliers is being developed in a partnership between systems and engineering technology company Frazer-Nash Consultancy and Sula Systems Limited. Initiated by DEC Ground Manoeuvre within MOD, the programme recognises that the current process can lead to URDs which the defence industry can find difficult to interpret and sometime fails to quantify the acceptable trade space. The existing URD process, developed for SMART Procurement, also does not fully take account of the developments of Through-Life Capability Management which is being now being implemented within MOD. The new process for developing a URD will address these issues and also enhance the integration of MoD’s research and operational analysis programmes. Subsequently the user need and technical feasibility will be better linked, leading to smoother procurement programmes and the delivery of better capability.

02 Apr 08. Ground troops to get world class air warning system. Ground commanders are to get a new system that will tell them what is happening in the air, helping to reduce friendly fire incidents and improve their ability to counter air attacks, under a £100m contract with Lockheed Martin UK INSYS. The Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) programme will provide land commanders with a detailed local picture of their own and other forces’ in the air so they can better coordinate airspace activity. This will help them to be more effective in combat and reduce the risk of friendly fire incidents. The system uses ground-based sensors connected to equipment on a vehicle or trailer; data from the sensors is collated to produce the air picture. The equipment can be deployed in different configurations for a variety of military tasks. The contract which has been awarded to Lockheed Martin UK INSYS is expected to sustain up to 100 jobs at the contractor’s facilities in Ampthill, Bedfordshire and at other sites in the UK. The LEAPP system is expected to enter service in 2012.

01 Apr 08. QinetiQ welcomes progress on DTR programme. QinetiQ has welcomed the confirmation of pre-contract funding for Package 1 of the Defence Training Review (DTR) programme. QinetiQ is a joint lead company with Land Securities Trillium in Metrix UK, a consortium that is preferred bidder for Package 1 of the DTR. Package 1 involves the delivery of training in Aeronautical Engineering, Electro-Mechanical Engineering and Communications and Information Systems (CIS).

02 Apr 08. Saab won an order for five Giraffe radar units worth 350m Swedish crowns ($58m). The battlefield surveillance radar is being provided to Lockheed Martin’s British arm as part of a contract with the British government, the Swedish firm said in a statement. (Source: Google)

SEA

03 Apr 08. BMT Defence Services Ltd, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has significantly upgraded the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Systems Information Co-ordination Agency (SiCA) database and website. Managed by BMT, SiCA provides Naval Combat Systems Interface Co-ordination (NCSIC) for new or modified equipment to be installed in Royal Navy warships and submarines. The SiCA database acts as the hub of essential core data relating to: past, present and planned equipment changes and the interfaces between equipment; ownership; and approved documents and drawings.

03 Apr 08. Aircraft lifts ordered for new Navy carriers. A contract for the manufacture of aircraft lifts for the Royal Navy’s two new 65,000 tonne carriers was announced today by Defence Minister Baroness Ann Taylor. The £13m contract, awarded to MacTaggart Scott of Loanhead, Scotland, means MoD orders for equipment, materials and infrastructure for the two ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, now total more than £160m. The lifts and their ass