EUROPE
LAND
03 Feb 10. Multiyear medium caliber ammunition supply contract. The French procurement agency (Direction Générale de l’Armement -DGA) has just awarded Nexter Munitions a multiyear contract to supply 20mm, 25mm and 30mm combat and training medium caliber ammunition. Deliveries of the 1,880,000 cartridges covered by this €139m (inc. VAT) contract will
take place until mid-2016, providing continuity of delivery with the 1,135,000 cartridges already supplied under the previous multiyear contract.
25 Jan 10. Air Weapons Ranges: Management. The MoD announced (25 Jan 10) that a contract has been awarded to QinetiQ to manage air weapons training activity for three years from 1 Apr 10. The contract, worth over £5m, includes an option to extend the arrangement by up to two years. QinetiQ is also to provide a variety of services including IT (information technology) support, communications and the maintenance of targets. The ranges involved are at RAF Tain on the Moray Firth, RAF Donna Nook and RAF Holbeach on The Wash and RAF Pembrey in South Wales as well as the Cape Wrath Bombardment Range in Scotland.
Comment: Under the contract, Service personnel should also benefit from QinetiQ’s experience in the management of 18 test and evaluation facilities across the UK. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 10/05, 01 Feb 10)
SEA
02 Feb 10. Babcock & MoD announce ground-breaking support arrangement for Landing Craft. The Ministry of Defence and Babcock have finalised a ground-breaking continuous engineering support (CES) arrangement for the long term support of Landing Craft. The Royal Navy operates a flotilla of 33 craft made up of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) and Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) operating from the Amphibious Capital Ships HMS Ocean, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. Under the new CES agreement, Babcock will undertake all LCU and LCVP support period activity, and will be making a more proactive contribution to the work required based on its knowledge and experience, working with the MoD to develop the maintenance requirements jointly. In the past Landing Craft have been the poor relation within the support community, and the implementation of the CES solution pulls together a single team in Devonport working alongside the end user, the Royal Marines, to deliver significant improvements in landing craft materiel state and availability whilst also delivering significant savings in through life costs.
AIR
03 Feb 10. The Boeing Company has been awarded a $324m Foreign Military Sales contract from the Electronics Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., to upgrade France’s fleet of four E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, as well as the fleet’s ground system. (Source: ASD Network)
19 Jan 10. In late December 2009, French defense procurement agency DGA announced the contract award to Sagem (Safran group) for the development and supply of SLPRM V5, including three years of system maintenance services. The SLPRM (Système Local de Préparation et de Restitution de Missions) mission planning and debriefing system, developed for the Rafale omnirole fighter, is a key to efficient mission planning and debriefing. It is used on different combat aircraft deployed by the French air force and navy, and supports all stores configurations. SLPRM integrates the latest Rafale F3 standard, as well as the latest guided air-to-ground weapons, including the ASMP-A nuclear cruise missile, Scalp conventional cruise missile and AASM modular air-to-ground weapon, developed and produced by Sagem, along with the Reco-NG optronics reconnaissance pod.
04 Feb 10. Stonewood Group will develop the on-board encrypted data storage systems for the British Army’s Lynx Wildcat helicopter under a contract awarded by General Dynamics (GD). Under the contract, Stonewood will supply portable encrypted hard drives that plug into the helicopter’s tactical mission systems, which are being devel