CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
LAND
Feb 09. CROMA has won a contract with the MoD that could double its turnover. The Aim-listed group said its subsidiary, Vigilant Security Scotland, had won a
three-year contract with the MOD, which has named it as a preferred supplier of
security. The latest contract, which covers all of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, will be worth between £2 million and £10m a year. (Source: Scotsman)
03 Feb 09. Germany’s Federal Agency for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) has placed an order with PSM GmbH of Kassel for a major expansion of the Bundeswehr’s new infantry fighting vehicle, the Puma. The Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group has a 50% stake in PSM, the company in charge of the Puma project. The order for integration of the multiple role lightweight guided missile system (MELLS) is worth approximately €68m. Equipping the Puma with this state-of-the-art guided missile system constitutes an important milestone in the overall programme, as well as underscoring the significance of this procurement project for the Bundeswehr.
Feb 09. British company, VSS, has beaten European competition to win a two-year contract to fit the Finnish Defence Force (FDF) fleet of over 700 vehicles with its ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) frame seating system. The system has been specially adapted for the extreme conditions in Finland. It is compliant with new seating regulations which come into force in April 2010. An added benefit is, that with improved seating, vehicles can increase their existing speed limit from 60km to 80km per hour.
SEA
Jan 09. Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB): Additional Order. The MoD reported (Desider, January 2009) that a second batch of P24 RIB has been ordered. 30 of the 40 knot P24 are already in service with Type 22/23 frigates and the second batch of 29 is being supplied by BVT under a £4m contract. P24 RIB are destined to equip Type 45 destroyers and the future aircraft carriers.
Comment: P24 RIB (a 24 foot long Pacific craft) replace Pacific 22 as the RN’s standard sea boat. At just over two tonnes, the P24 can carry a tonne of cargo or up to six passengers in addition to two crew. With a full load the craft can be driven for five hours at 20 knots. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/06, 02 Feb 09)
AIR
02 Feb 09. On Friday, January 30 at the European Space Agency headquarters in Paris, Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, and Alain Charmeau, Chief Executive Officer of Astrium Space Transportation, signed a contract for the production of 35 Ariane 5 ECA launchers (designated the “PB” batch). Worth more than €4bn, this contract follows the letter of intent signed at the last Paris Air Show in 2007, at a ceremony attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The launchers in the PB batch will be used starting in the second half of 2010, after the 30 Ariane 5 launchers ordered in 2004 (“PA” batch).
USA
LAND
02 Feb 09. DRS C3 Systems Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded on Jan. 27, 2009, a $13,915,132 firm fixed price contract for new work modification under the authority of Unusual and Compelling Urgency for 1,520 Driver’s Vision Enhancer (DVE) TWV A-Kits (mounting hardware, wiring, and connectors) for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Program and 224 DVE CV A-Kits and 756 cable assemblies. Work is being performed at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-06-C-W006).
03 Feb 09. AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on Jan. 30, 2009, a $510,781,157 firm fixed price contract to add 3,401 each High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) to contract. Work is being performed at Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Command, Warren, Mich., is