EUROPE
LAND
26 Jan 10. The UK MoD has awarded an $890m, critical phase Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) contract to improve global collaboration and communication between MoD and its allies. The contract has been awarded to an HP Enterprise Services-led ATLAS consortium, which includes Fujitsu, EADS Defence and Security Systems, General Dynamics and Logica.
Under the contract, ATLAS will replace outdated and expensive legacy systems, and provide 42,000 computer terminals operating in the “restricted” and “secret” domains to the remaining MoD fixed sites.
This improvement in the DII system, will benefit nearly 60,000 personnel, deployed with the Royal Air Force, at Joint Helicopter Command and other MoD locations. The enhanced DII system will be able to provide improved capabilities to nearly 300,000 users at 2,000 locations worldwide, following its complete delivery. The DII has been designed to meet the cost management and efficiency measures, as part of the UK defence change programme. The DII installation and management programme contract, which was signed by the MoD and the ATLAS Consortium in March 2005, will continue until 2015. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
18 Jan 10. Sharpshooter Rifles: Initial Purchase. The Defence Equipment Minister announced (18 Jan 10) that “more than 400” 7.62mm semi-automatic Sharpshooter rifles have been bought as a £1.5m Urgent Operational Requirement. Training on the rifles began in mid-January 2010 and the first batch is to be sent to Afghanistan “later in the year”. The rifles are designated L129A1 in UK service, where they are expected to “enhance accuracy of engagement during longer-range firefights with the Taliban”.
Comment: The ‘Defence Contracts Bulletin’ of 7 Oct and 2 Dec 09 record that Heckler & Koch GB and Law Enforcement International were invited to tender for the supply of 440 Sharpshooter rifles and initial spares, with the latter being awarded the contract valued at $US2.5m. The new rifles are described as “complementary” to the 5.56mm SA80A2 assault rifles and the 8.59mm Sniper Systems. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 10/04, 25 Jan 10)
27 Jan 10. Saab signs contract for air defence system RBS 70 to Finland. Defence and security company Saab has signed a contract on further deliveries of the RBS 70 ground based air defence system to the Finnish Army. The order has a value of MSEK 260. First deliveries of materiel are scheduled for 2011.
28 Jan 10. Defense departments in Europe choose Tiger. Sectra has signed contracts with two European defense departments concerning Tiger XS for encrypted telephony. The total order value is SEK 10m. Tiger XS is a personal voice encryptor that protects telephone calls from eavesdropping over telephone lines, GSM, 3G, ISDN and IP networks as well as via satellite systems. Tiger is certified by the EU, NATO and several national security bodies, making it the most secure product in the market for encrypted telephony.
AIR
26 Jan 10. The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has awarded a contract to AAI Corporation for advanced boresight equipment (ABE) harmonisation on its AH-64D Apache Longbow and CH-47F Chinook helicopters.
Under the contract, AAI Corporation will deliver an additional ABE AH-64D Apache depot boresight system to the air force. A gyro-stabilised, electro-optical angular measurement system, the ABE has been designed to align aircraft subsystems. The ABE system will align sensors, weapons and sighting systems, and provide an additional ABE AH-64D Apache maintenance aircraft survivability equipment (AMASE) boresight kit for AMASE alignment. As part of the $1.8m contract, AAI’s ABE system will also be used as the harmonisation solution for the RNLAF’s CH-47F Chinook aircraft survivability equipment. AAI will also design, develop and deliver adapters, platform-specific firmware called a personality module, and training and manuals. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
27 Jan 10. ThalesRay