EUROPE

AIR

18 Oct 13. France to equip E-2C Hawkeye aircraft with Northrop’s IFF system. The US Navy has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman to provide an upgraded identification friend or foe (IFF) system in support of the French Navy’s E-2C Hawkeye aircraft upgrade programme. Under the $34.5m contract, Northrop will modify the French Navy’s fleet of three E-2C Hawkeyes with an upgraded IFF system to enhance commonality and interoperability with US Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. (Source: naval-technology.com)

USA

LAND

21 Oct 13. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems was awarded a contract by the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) for non-developmental V-22 Internally Transportable Vehicles (ITV). The three-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract is for up to 10 vehicles, with integration and logistical support and training. The total value of the contract is $5.8 m if all options are exercised.
General Dynamics’ Flyer ITV is a modular and mobile vehicle that traverses severe, rugged and restrictive terrain while providing off-road, cross-country mobility in all types of weather. Easily and rapidly reconfigured in the field, the Flyer ITV can be used for a variety of combat and humanitarian efforts including light assault, search and rescue, command and control and reconnaissance missions. Its modular, armored design allows it to meet an array of threat levels and environmental conditions without vehicle modifications.

22 Oct 13. The U.S. Army has increased the ceiling value of a Harris Corporation Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) tactical communications contract by $847m. The initial contract was awarded in 2011. The increase enables the U.S. government to continue to acquire mission-critical Harris tactical radio solutions to assist international partners of the Departments of State and Defense. The contract is part of the Foreign Military Sales program, which supports coalition building and interoperability through sales of defense equipment, training and services. The contract includes the entire Harris Falcon® family of tactical radio solutions and accessories, including the combat-proven AN/PRC-117G and RF-7800M wideband manpack, AN/PRC-152A wideband handheld and RF-7800S soldier personal radios.

22 Oct 13. Northrop Grumman Cobham Intercoms LLC (NGCI), a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Cobham plc, has been awarded the first production delivery order of the AN/VIC-5 enhanced vehicular communication system. The announcement was made during a ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Aberdeen, Md., on Sept. 27. The U.S. Army PEO Enterprise Information Systems hosted the event to celebrate the decision for material release of the AN/VIC-5. This first production delivery order marks the official beginning of the program’s production and deployment phase.

22 Oct 13. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Md., has been awarded the fifth contract in a fair opportunity, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity program with a total program amount of $24,375,000 for research and development regarding automatic target recognition (ATR). The Compact ATR and Sustainable Environment (CASE) program addresses efficiency and sustainability concerns associated with the development, operation and maintenance of current non-cooperative ATR technology. Research is focused on reducing template/database dimensionality and cost for single and multi-phenomenology ATR, while maintaining target identification performance. CASE will develop and demonstrate the ability to add new target representations to ATR databases rapidly, including potentially on-the-fly target insertion. CASE will exploit opportunities for increased operational efficiency and robustness through missionization of ATRs. Technology developments will be demonstrated in both laboratory and field environments, including real time flight demonstrations. CASE will also explore the migrat