EUROPE

LAND

16 Mar 12. Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Training: Contract Extension. Saab AB announced (16 Mar 12) that the Company has signed a two-year extension for the Collective C-IED Trainer managed service with the MoD. The value of the order is about £11m. In the Company’s words: “The extension will ensure that UK military personnel continue to receive the very best C-IED live training capabilities in the UK and abroad.”.
Comment: Saab has been supporting C-IED training for those deploying to Afghanistan since November 2010. Saab also provides instrumented live simulation for MoD training Exercises in Canada, Kenya and in the UK. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 12/12, 19 Mar 12)

AIR

14 Mar 12. Cobham’s Digital Audio Control System (DACS) has been selected as forward-fit for the new Eurocopter EC175. Since 2008, DACS has been forward-fit on more medium and heavy helicopters than any other digital audio system in the world, including the EC135, 635, 225, 725, and 155. The EC175, a seven metric ton-category helicopter, will feature enhanced range and payload capabilities for 12-, 16-, and 18-passenger configurations when it enters service in late 2012. Two EC175 prototypes at Eurocopter’s Marignane, France location have logged nearly 300 flight hours to date. Cobham’s DACS is compact and lightweight, maximizing space utilization and enhancing payload capacity. The system is flexible and configurable to specific customer specifications using DACS software.

TECHNOLOGY

14 Mar 12. Lockheed Martin UK has been selected by the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom (U.K.) to provide G-Cloud IT services across the full complement of Government departments and organizations. Under the framework agreement, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, the corporation’s business area that provides cloud computing solutions, will offer a wide range of services including cloud strategy and integration services; cloud security services; mission centric services; green IT and energy optimization services; cloud brokering services; virtualization consulting; assessments for Oracle virtualization and virtual desktop as a service assessments. The initial U.K. G-Cloud agreement, known as CloudStore, will run for six to nine months, with the potential to become a rolling contract.

15 Mar 12. Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, announces that it has been chosen by the UK MoD as the proposed supplier to take over the leadership of Defence Business Services (DBS) which provides corporate services for the MOD such as civilian human resources, finance, information and security vetting. This decision was announced on 1 March by the Secretary of State for Defence and was subject to a 10 day stand-still period. Under this new contract Serco will provide an executive leadership team who will work with DBS staff to transform the organisation into a lean and effective shared services centre, building on private sector best practice. DBS will continue to be part of the MOD and DBS personnel will continue to be employed by MOD, with the same terms and conditions. The contract, expected to be signed in mid March, will be valued at around £36m over its four year duration, with an option for a further one year extension. Serco will be paid by results, designed to ensure that the MOD receives both service continuity and improvements in DBS effectiveness and efficiency.

USA

LAND

12 Mar 12. ATK was awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS, ICE) for .40 caliber ammunition. This contract features a base of 12 months, includes four option years, and will have a maximum volume of 450 million rounds.
ATK was the incumbent and won the contract with its HST bullet, which has proven itself in the field. The special hollow point effectively passes through a varie