EUROPE
LAND
01 Sep 11. The Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) signed a €350m ($500m), 16-year contract with an industrial group, led by equipment maker Alcatel Lucent, to build an Internet-based communications network for French Air Force airbases, a spokesman for the procurement office said. One of the conditions of the publicprivate partnership contract, signed Aug. 22, is that up to 10 percent of the overall value must be subcontracted to small- and medium-sized companies, the DGA spokesman said. (Source: Defense News)
USA
LAND
31 Aug 11. DRS Technologies, North Largo, Fla., is being awarded an $8,085,851 firm-fixed-price contract to build 27 80-foot Ground Based Surveillance System 2.0 heavy full multi-sensor tower systems. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pa., and is expected to be completed by March 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This procurement was competitively procured via direct solicitation with three proposals solicited and three offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity.
01 Sep 11. General Dynamics has been awarded a $3.7bn firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, level-of-effort, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to provide computer hardware and software to the US Defense Department. The five year command hardware systems-4 award is a follow-on contract to a potential $2bn, ten-year CHS-3 effort that was awarded to GD C4 Systems in 2003. According to a GD spokesman Rob Doolittle, the new contract will enable procurement of commercial hardware and software including computers, radio equipment and other communications gear at competitive prices. Work on the new contract will be carried out at Massachusetts, US and is anticipated to be completed by 26 August 2016. The US Army Communications-Electronics Command will be the contracting activity. (Source: armytechnology.com)
AIR
31 Aug 11. Aero Sekur has won a significant first order to supply an Inflatable Maintenance Enclosure and Climatic Controller to Northrop Grumman for field repairs to Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the F-35 Lightning II. With forty years experience supplying complex flexible structures for military use, Aero Sekur will develop a temporary inflatable field maintenance system for protecting the F-35. A climatic controller sourced by Aero Sekur will be integrated into the enclosure.
01 Sep 11. AeroVironment, Inc. received a contract on June 29 from the U.S. Army Close Combat Weapons Systems (CCWS), Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS). The $4,907,840 contract for the Switchblade agile munition includes engineering services and operational systems for deployment with the U.S. Army. This award represents the culmination of years of development, testing, demonstrations and customer evaluations. The prototype Switchblade system previously received Safety Confirmation and underwent Military Utility Assessment with the U.S. Army in the fall of 2010. The award is for rapid fielding of this capability to deployed combat forces.
The Switchblade air vehicle launches from a small tube that can be carried in a backpack and transmits live color video wirelessly for display on AeroVironment’s standard small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) ground control unit. Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target. Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage. With the ability to call off a strike even after the air vehicle is armed, Switchblade provides a level of control not available in other weapon systems.
01 Sep 11. Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc. of El Segundo, Calif. is being awarded a $1,099,800,000 firm fixed price contract modification to allow production of Satellite Vehicle 7 as well