EUROPE
LAND
21 Apr 11. Force Protection Industries, Inc. received a $27.4m sub-contract from Integrated Survivability Technologies Limited for the delivery of 47 Cougar Mastiff vehicles to the U.K. MoD. IST is a joint venture between Force Protection Europe Limited, a subsidiary of Force Protection Industries, Inc., and NP Aerospace Limited, a subsidiary of The Morgan Crucible Company plc. Work under this sub-contract will be performed in Ladson, South Carolina, and is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2011.
14 Apr 11. Rheinmetall wins important Bundeswehr force protection
Orders. Germany’s Federal Agency for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) has contracted with Rheinmetall to supply the Bundeswehr with innovative force protection technology, which will soon be providing German troops deployed in Afghanistan with even greater security. The total volume of the two individual contracts, both of which were issued in response to an immediate operational requirement of the Bundeswehr, amounts to around €24m. First, Rheinmetall will thoroughly modernize four Büffel/Buffalo armoured recovery vehicles to provide their crews with effective protection against ballistic threats, landmines and improvised explosive devices; the latter pose a particularly serious danger to ISAF forces in Afghanistan. At the same time, Rheinmetall has been tasked with providing a pioneering high-tech system for reliably detecting mines and booby traps buried in the soil which will enhance the security of frequently travelled routes as well as protecting convoys. In future, remote control systems will be used for this hazardous task, enabling soldiers to remain in protected vehicles outside the danger zone.
20 Apr 11. Poland’s Ministry of Defense awarded a contract for 33,333 combat helmets to local protective equipment manufacturer Maskpol, the ministry’s Armament Inspectorate said. The deal is for 36m zloty ($13.2m). In the course of negotiations, the ministry secured a rebate from the company, the Armament Inspectorate said in a statement. (Source: Defense News)
18 Apr 11. French Army selects Thales to provide support for most of its radio-controlled IED1 jammers deployed in operations. Thales has been selected by the French Army to assure through-life support of a sizeable proportion of its radio-controlled IED jammers deployed in external theatres of operation. This contract confirms Thales’s positioning as a key and unifying player within European industry, in the field of providing services to the armed forces. In particular, Thales benefits from its expertise in the management of complex supply chains and its capacity to work alongside these forces, into theatres of operation.
SEA
21 Apr 11. Carl Zeiss Optronics signed an agreement on 30 March with Turkish company STM for the modernization of two submarines of the 209 Class. The refurbishment covers the installation of a state-of-the-art ESM system (electronic system management), a new INS system (inertial navigation system) and the delivery of two SERO 250-A attack periscopes and two SERO 250-S search periscopes. The order is a sub-order from the Turkish procurement authority SSM and the navy. The attack periscope features an eyesafe laser rangefinder, an image intensifier and a TV camera for navigation and targeting. The search periscope is equipped with an IR camera for night sight capability, a TV camera and an ESM-EW/GPS antenna for observation and reconnaissance.
AIR
21 Apr 11. BAE has upgraded the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) TMk2 aircraft trainer to support the air force’s need for improved efficiency and capability enhancement. An operational capability 2 (OC2) software upgrade will be installed on the Hawk TMk2 so that pilots can perform virtual operational manoeuvres using synthetic weapons to defeat threats. The software provides the Hawk with simulated radar and sensor capability including a radar warning receiver, defensive aids, and an enh