EUROPE
LAND
Jan 10. New General Service Respirator (GSR): Soon to be Issued. Soldier (January 2010) features a new GSR which is to be issued to all Service personnel from May 2010, replacing the S10 respirator. The GSR has been developed by Tyco Scott Health and Safety in conjunction with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
Comment: The GSR can easily be identified by its single screen and twin filters rather than the double eyepiece and single filter of the S10. Tyco Scott announced the award of an initial GSR contract worth about £40m on 3 Dec 04. The Company anticipates that the contract will eventually be worth over £104m. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 11/01, 04 Jan 10)
SEA
Jan 10. A contract to that effect has been signed by the Polish MOD with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace of Norway. Half of the funds are to be used up by Polish subcontractors, including communications equipment supplier Transbit and truck manufacturer Jelcz. Norwegian technologies are to be made available to Polish companies, which are to receive orders to the tune of PLN345m as part of an offset deal. (Source: Google)
AIR
22 Dec 09. C-17 Transport Aircraft: Seventh Ordered. The MoD confirmed (22 Dec 09) that contracts had been signed for a seventh Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft. The new aircraft is due to join the other six with 99 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton when it enters service in March 2011.
Comment: The first of four leased C-17s was delivered to the RAF in May 2001. The aircraft were bought at the end of their lease term and joined by a fifth and a sixth in April and June 2008. Between 1 May 01 and
31 Mar 09 the six C-17 completed 48,824 flying hours. No price details have been released for the seventh aircraft but the contract value of the sixth was given as £130m in January 2008. The planned out-of-service date for the C-17 in RAF service is 2031. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 11/01, 04 Jan 10)
06 Jan 10. Lockheed Martin has signed a foreign military sales contract to deliver Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs) and LANTIRN” Enhanced Resolution (ER) navigation pods to the Turkish Air Force. Valued at $118m, the contract will provide Sniper ATP and LANTIRN ER navigation pods to equip Turkish Air Force F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 Peace Onyx aircraft. Sniper ATPs and LANTIRN ER navigation pods will provide a significant capability upgrade to the Turkish Air Force s F-16 fleet, said Rich Lovette, program director for Fixed-Wing Fire Control at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. LANTIRN ER s 3rd generation navigation FLIR and enhanced image processing will allow aircrews to go far beyond their current capability. The Sniper ATP will provide enhanced target detection and identification capability, expanding the F-16 s ability to conduct non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
TECHNOLOGY
28 Dec 09. Indra will provide the Air Force with technological support to guarantee maximum performance and efficacy of the early warning and surveillance system of Spain’s air space. It will also supply the necessary support in order to secure correct performance of the avionics and communication systems and the calibration of the laboratory equipment. The contract, for 4 years with the Ministry of Defence, amounts to EUR53m. In order to optimise system performance, nearly 200 professionals from Indra will engage in technological consultancy and will collaborate with the Air Force in studies and engineering projects. (Source: ASD Network)
USA
LAND
04 Jan 10. Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, Calif., was awarded a $34,300,000 contract to implement the following changes to the functionality available for the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals Increment 1: CTRD update version 9.2; Simple Key Loader 6.0 interface to data set manager (DSM) for DSM, flash control station profiles; and implementation of auto broadcast features on X