EUROPE
LAND
18 Oct 10. Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Training: Order Placed. Saab AB announced (18 Oct 10) that the Company has received an MoD order to provide C-IED training for the Army in the UK and abroad. The contract runs for one year and is valued at about SKr120m (about £11.3m).
Comment: In September 2009 Saab was invited to advise the MoD on C-IED and in September/October 2010 the Company assisted in the training of 1,600 personnel from 16 Air Assault Brigade before they left for Afghanistan. Saab has an established relationship with the MoD and provides training systems in support of Exercises held in Kenya. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 10/41, 25 Oct 10)
22 Oct 10. WFEL, the North West-based defence engineering group, announced a £1m order from the UK MoD to supply MGB spares as well as inspection and repair services for its Air Portable Ferry Bridges (APFBs) returning from use in Afghanistan. The APFB and MGB are part of WFEL’s suite of tactical bridges which are used by armed forces in conflict zones and civilian disaster emergency relief operations. Since its launch almost four decades ago, in excess of 500 MGB units have been sold worldwide. In 2004, WFEL released the APFB – a variation of the popular MGB design – for use by the UK’s light and expeditionary forces.
SEA
27 Oct 10. French naval shipyard DCNS has ordered Sigma 40XP inertial navigation systems from Sagem (Safran group) for the new Suffren class nuclear attack submarines, within the scope of the Barracuda program. DCNS made its selection because of the Sigma 40XP’s high performance demonstrated during sea trials conducted by the French navy using several
different ships: the Monge test and measurement vessel, the Beautemps-Beaupre oceanographic research ship, and Rubis/Amethyste class nuclear attack submarines.
AIR
26 Oct 10. Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc. received contracts with a total potential value in excess of $4.9m from Cassidian Air Systems to provide Digital Video and Data Recorders (DVDR), and associated replay facilities, for a fleet-wide upgrade to Panavia Aircraft GmbH’s German and Italian Tornado aircraft. Cassidian Air Systems, Panavia’s prime contractor, awarded two contracts, the first for German Tornado aircraft and the second for the Italian Tornado fleet, to Curtiss-Wright’s Specialist Electronics Services (SES) Ltd. business unit.
25 Oct 10. Goodrich Corporation received a follow-on contract worth over
£7m (approximately US$10m) from the UK MoD for Performance Based Logistics (PBL). The contract continues a decade of support for a number of legacy instruments used on a range of UK jets and helicopters in operational service. The contract was awarded to Plymouth, UK-based Atlantic Inertial Systems (AIS), which became part of Goodrich’s Sensors and Integrated Systems in December 2009.
24 Oct 10. Elbit Systems Ltd’s UK company with Thales UK – UAS Tactical Systems Ltd. (U-TacS) has been awarded by Thales UK a follow-on Urgent Operating Capability (UOR) contract worth approximately $70m to provide an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) support capability for the UK Armed Forces. The contract will be performed over the next one and a half years. As was the case with the previous U-TacS UOR contracts, awarded in 2007 and 2009, this contract also includes the provision and support of Hermes® 450 UAS systems, as well as training for UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff in the use and maintenance of the system, and the provision of contractor logistic support (CLS) and program management services. This work will be managed by U-TacS located in Leicester, UK.
TECHNOLOGY
25 Oct 10. The UK MoD has extended its contract with Systematic to continue to provide expert support to the UK’s involvement in the MIP (Multilateral Interoperability Programme). The £1.25m (approx €1.5m/US$1.9m) contract, which has been running since November 2009, now s