EUROPE
SEA
19 Nov 15. The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems a contract for the delivery of the fifth Astute Class submarine, taking the total value for work on the vessel to £1.3bn. The contract covers the design and remaining build, test and commissioning activities on Anson, the fifth of seven technologically-advanced submarines in the class. Manufacturing commenced in 2010. Anson is now at an advanced stage of construction at BAE Systems’ site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and on schedule to leave for sea trials in 2020.
16 Nov 15. The Danish procurement authorities have contracted with the Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group to supply additional 35mm Oerlikon Millennium guns for ships of the Royal Danish Navy. The order, which also includes spare parts and technical services, is worth around €20m. The guns will be shipped in 2016. The Rheinmetall Group won an initial order from Denmark for the Oerlikon Millennium gun back in 2005. Now official, this follow up order is of great importance with regard to international sales, reflecting strong customer satisfaction with existing systems and their performance over the past decade. Two types of Danish ships will therefore soon be equipped with the Millennium gun, one of the most effective and versatile naval weapon systems anywhere. Thanks to the flexible ISO Mount installation concept, the guns can be installed on any of the Absalon class or the new Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate. The guns will be managed by SaabTech CEROS fire control systems and Terma command and control technology. Teamed with Rheinmetall’s high-performance 35mm Ahead airburst ammunition, the Millennium gun gives the Danish Navy a close-range self-defence capability for protecting high-value assets that is second to none. A multipurpose weapon system, it is also capable of neutralizing asymmetric and symmetric threats alike, whether on the surface or in the air. Besides Denmark, five other NATO nations use Rheinmetall’s programmable 35mm Ahead airburst ammunition which, when combined with the Millennium Revolver Gun 35/1000, results in massive yet flexible firepower that can be scaled to match a wide variety of operational scenarios.
AIR
19 Nov 15. QinetiQ has secured a £4.2m contract with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to deliver a command and control demonstration system for the co-ordination of multiple unmanned vehicles. Leading a team comprising BAE Systems, Thales and Seebyte, QinetiQ will develop a transportable solution capable of integrating unmanned systems from multiple suppliers. The objective is to minimise the number of screens and controls needed to conduct missions, improving efficiency and mitigating the risk of human error by reducing the burden on operators. The system is intended for deployment at sea during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior showcase, where it will support a series of demonstrations, including a comparison of mine countermeasures carried out by manned and unmanned craft. Unmanned Warrior will take place alongside the Joint Warrior exercise in October 2016, with many of the key elements undertaken on or using range facilities operated by QinetiQ on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence.
TECHNOLOGY
19 Nov 15. QinetiQ has been awarded work with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), worth a combined £153m over five years, for the delivery of technical services to fast jets and the A400M heavy-lift aircraft. The award introduces a framework for how the two organisations will work together, called the Strategic Enterprise, which will deliver considerable savings to the MOD through improved efficiency. The Strategic Enterprise, developed jointly by QinetiQ and the MOD, is a formal agreement that enables multiple projects to be managed under a single, standardised delivery approach. This provides better value for money to the MOD by driving down management costs, optimising the use of resources, streamlining administrative pro