02 Jun 04. United Defense Industries, Inc. was awarded a contract modification and two delivery orders worth up to $218m to provide enhancements to upgraded Bradley Fighting Vehicles that will improve soldier capabilities. The awards include: $191.1m to remanufacture and upgrade 131 older Bradley Fighting Vehicles to an M3A2 configuration that incorporates the latest enhancements based on lessons learned by the U.S. Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), deliver 31 M7 Bradley Fire Support (BFIST) vehicles, and provide 40 Bradley A2 Operation Desert Storm (ODS) kit sets; $19.8m for spare parts for Bradley A3 vehicles and the Bradley A2 OIF vehicles; and $7.1m to provide Blue Force Tracking (BFT) kits for Bradley A2 ODS vehicles. The award to provide the BFT kits is funded initially at $3.6m.
27 May 04. Lockheed Martin received a $9m contract to continue its integration of five airborne mine countermeasures systems, giving U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopters a fully coordinated capability to detect and neutralize mines. Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft are integrating Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures (OAMCM) systems that currently operate independently. They are the: Towed sonar with a mine identification system (AN/AQS-20A), Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS), Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS), Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMICS), Organic Airborne and Surface Influence Sweep (OASIS). Key to the integration of the five systems are cockpit avionics changes and a common console developed by Lockheed Martin to permit the centralized operation of the organic mine countermeasures while also reducing operator workload, training and maintenance costs. The common console will provide a consistent interface for the OAMCM sensor operator to all five organic detection and neutralization devices to determine safe areas for ships to transit and operate.
02 Jun 04. Raytheon will receive US$ 8m in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate networking and communications technologies for future insertion into the US Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) and other Army systems. The programme’s goal is to advance a net-centric system capable of the high data rates and low latency communications needed for real-time FCS fire control and robotic/unmanned missions. Because future warfighters will operate in hostile electromagnetic environments, the FCS communications system must also provide protection against jamming and significantly reduce the probability of enemy detection.
The FCS communications approach to meeting these opposing constraints is through a multi-tiered mobile ad hoc network (MANET) utilising both directional antennas at low-band and highly directional antennas at high-band.
01 Jun 04. BAE Systems has been selected by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, Undersecretariat for Defense Industries and the Turkish Air Force as the key subcontractor for an integrated electronic self-protection system to be installed on that nation’s F-16 fighters. BAE Systems will be a subcontractor to MiKES, Inc., who in turn is a subcontractor to the prime contractor ASELSAN, Inc. Both ASELSAN and MiKES are Turkish Defense Industry Enterprises located in Ankara, Turkey. Under the contract, which is valued at $100m, development and delivery of hardware and related software for the AN/ALQ-178(V)5+ Electronic Warfare systems will be provided for Turkey’s “Block 50” version of its F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. Design and development will take place primarily at BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) in Nashua, N.H., over the next four years. An integrated product team that includes both MiKES and IEWS’ design experts will develop the highly sophisticated system, which will be able to counter advanced threats. Following the development phase, MiKES will be responsible for the production of 60 systems in Turkey.
27 May 04. Goodri