EUROPE
LAND
26 Mar 10. BAE Systems has been awarded a £135m ($200m) contract to commence series production of 48 Archer 155mm self-propelled artillery gun systems and their associated ammunition handling systems for the Swedish and Norwegian armed forces. The first operational systems are expected to be delivered in October 2011 and production will continue over the following two years. This production contract follows a £100m ($146m) development programme which began in 2003. Archer is an advanced and automated artillery gun system in production, designed for rapid deployment and high mobility in the most demanding operational scenarios. The digital fire control system and automatic gun-laying capability allows a response to calls for fire within 30 seconds while the ordnance is securely stowed and ready for rapid redeployment within 30 seconds of the completion of a fire mission.
29 Mar 10. The Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) has now ordered a further 41 of these heavily-protected personnel and material carrier from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), which the German Army will deploy in Afghanistan. The leading European manufacturer for protected wheeled and tracked vehicles will deliver the 41 DINGO 2 to the troops even before the end of the year.
SEA
25 Mar 10. Babcock International Group PLC has signed a long term strategic Terms of Business Agreement (ToBA) with the MoD. The agreement confirms Babcock as the MoD’s key support partner in the maritime sector and underpins the delivery of key aspects of the MoD’s Defence Industrial Strategy. The ToBA covers the fifteen year period between 2010 and 2025 during which Babcock commits to the progressive delivery of guaranteed cost savings to the MoD. In return, Babcock is nominated to undertake specific roles and to perform particular types of engineering work in support of the Royal Navy’s major warships and nuclear-powered submarines. In addition, the ToBA also extends Babcock’s management roles at the Clyde and Devonport Naval Bases from 2013 to 2025 – a value of some £2.5 bn.
AIR
26 Mar 10. A new £42m contract will upgrade ten more Lynx helicopters to improve the air support available to forces on the frontline in Afghanistan, the MoD announced today. The Lynx upgrade to Mk9A standard will deliver more powerful engines, strengthened airframes, increased firepower using the heavier calibre 0.5’’ gun and more advanced instruments and electronics, improving the helicopters’ performance in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. This £41.8m contact with AgustaWestland of Yeovil follows a £50m contract to upgrade 12 Lynx helicopters and brings the total number of Lynx upgraded to Mk9A standard to 22.
30 Mar 10. SELEX Galileo awarded contracts worth more than 31 Million Euros to supply Precision Approach Radars. The first contract was assigned to SELEX Galileo by TELEDIFE on behalf of the Italian Air
Force (Aeronautica Militare), and sees the Company supplying one PAR 2090 CF to be installed in a fixed configuration on the Galatina air base near Lecce. The PAR will be integrated as part of a complete GCA (Ground Control Approach) system, a larger contract that also involves SELEX Sistemi Integrati, another Finmeccanica Company.
30 Mar 10. SELEX Communications has been awarded an initial development contract by Saab to equip the Gripen NG (Next Generation) multi-role combat aircraft with an IFF (Identification Friend-or-Foe) system. This initial contract will be followed by production orders once the aircraft enters production.
USA
LAND
29 Mar 10. AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on March 22 a $317,961,404 firm-fixed-price contract to add 2,122 high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles to contract. Work is to be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM Warren, AMSTA-AQ-ATCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting a