EUROPE
LAND
09 Jan 17. Portuguese Government approves acquisition of radios from EID. Cohort, the independent technology group, notes the announcement by the Portuguese government in its official gazette of its decision to authorise the acquisition of tactical radios for the Portuguese Army from Cohort’s subsidiary EID. The details of the contract will be subject to negotiation, but the approved maximum value is €7.5m, and delivery is expected to take place between 2017 and 2023. The radios will form part of the Portuguese Army’s tactical communications and information system known as SIC-T.
SEA
09 Jan 17. France chooses Safran to design an improved version of the global navigation system for its ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). The French defense procurement agency DGA has chosen Safran Electronics & Defense to design, develop and build an improved version of its global navigation system now used on the country’s Triomphant class ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SNLE). The new version capitalizes on extensive feedback from the current laser gyro-based navigation systems. It will incorporate new technologies to deliver even higher performance than the current system, the first to eliminate the need for electrostatically suspended gyroscopes (ESG), which were traditionally used for navigation on strategic platforms. To date, Safran has supplied inertial navigation systems for more than 500 surface ships from around the world, along with over 70 submarines, both nuclear and conventional. A number of modern front-line units are equipped with Safran’s navigation systems, including the new Barracuda class nuclear attack submarines.
AIR
09 Jan 17. GKN Aerospace has gained a three year contract extension worth over USD$175m, covering the technical product support, maintenance and parts supply for the Gripen RM12 Engines used in Sweden, Hungary, Czech Republic and Thailand. The Performance Based Logistics (PBL) agreement, with the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) extends the company’s existing work on this programme until 2020. GKN Aerospace has been a supplier of fighter engines to the Swedish Armed forces since 1930. Since 2010 GKN Aerospace has committed to guarantee full availability of the RM12 engines and GKN Aerospace is the type certificate holder of the engine in Sweden. The RM12 engine fleet has sofar completed approximately 250,000 flight hours without any engine related serious incidents for the Gripen fighter aircraft. Technical product support, maintenance, and parts supply will continue to be performed at GKN Aerospace’s facility in Trollhattan, Sweden.
10 Jan 17. UK MoD signs £271m deal with Leonardo Helicopters to support world-leading Wildcat helicopters, protecting highly-skilled jobs. Over 80% of the 500 jobs will be sustained at Leonardo’s facilities in Yeovil and Royal Air Station Yeovilton, the home of Wildcat training and maintenance in the UK, after the Ministry of Defence sign £271M deal. A further 100 jobs will be maintained in Leonardo’s supply chain. (Source: Defence Online)
USA
LAND
11 Jan 17. Harris Corporation’s Communication Systems business (NYSE:HRS) has been awarded a three-year contract by the National Spectrum Consortium to develop a new narrowband mode of the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) for the U.S. Department of Defense. The new narrowband mode will decrease the amount of spectrum required when deploying an Infantry Brigade Combat Team. This will help extend the warfighter’s point-to-point communications range, enabling reliable voice and data communications transmission over varying terrain. Warfighters today use wideband SRW to transmit higher bandwidth information, such as video and images, over shorter point-to-point distances. The narrowband mode of SRW will extend point-to-point ranges, provide electronic counter-countermeasures, and enhance network scalability. This will allow more users – including other U.S. services and coalition p