UNITED KINGDOM
TECHNOLOGY
25 Aug 18. TMD Technologies Limited (TMD), world class, West London based manufacturer of professional microwave and RF products, has received a £2m overseas order for travelling wave tubes (TWTs) for an airborne search and rescue radar application. Based on TMD’s innovative, proven ring loop development, this top performance, high power TWT operates in X-band with exceptional reliability, featuring an advanced electron gun with long life dispenser cathode and sophisticated grid design.
USA
LAND
29 Aug 18. Cummins Power Generation Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded a $490,959,400 firm-fixed-price contract for Advanced Medium Mobile Power Sources. On bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 28, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W909MY-18-D-0033).
29 Aug 18. L-3 Communications EO/IR Inc., Santa Rosa, California, was awarded a $454,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Electro-Optic/Infrared/Laser Designator Payload. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 28, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W909MY-18-D-0031).
29 Aug 18. QinetiQ North America (QNA) has received a $11.65m contract from the US Department of Defense for the US Army’s Route Clearance and Interrogation Systems (RCIS) Type 1 robotics programme, the company announced on 24 August. The US Army’s RCIS Type I programme involves automation of the High Mobility Engineering Excavator platform, providing the army with the option to remotely operate the legacy HMEE Type I as a UGV from an operator control unit inside a Mine Protected Clearance Vehicle. This capability will enable soldiers to interrogate, classify and excavate deep-buried explosive hazards and improvised explosive devices, while keeping personnel, vehicles and equipment clear from the explosive hazards blast zone. Work on this contract will be completed in March 2025. (Source: Shephard)
AIR
30 Aug 18. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a ceiling price $805,318,853 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract to provide the design, development, fabrication, test, verification, certification, delivery, and support of four MQ-25A unmanned air vehicles, including integration into the carrier air wing to provide an initial operational capability to the Navy. The work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (45.5 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (6.9 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3.1 percent); Quebec, Canada (3.1 percent); Palm Bay, Florida (2.3 percent); San Diego, California (1.5 percent); and various locations inside and outside the continental U.S. (37.6 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2024. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $79,050,820 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; three offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-18-C-1012).
30 Aug 18. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $250,438,817 modification to a previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-16-C-0033). This modification definitizes pricing for F-35 Lightning II low-rate initial production Lot 11 production non-recurring special tooling and special test equipment. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (27.68 percent); El Segundo, California (17.21 percent); Samlesbury, United Kingdom,(14.04 percent); Orlando, Florida (8.86 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (8.55 percent); San Diego, California (4.42 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (3.31 percent); Marietta, Georgia (2.73 percent); Turin, Italy (1.40 percent); Rochester, United Kingdom (1.38 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (0.70 percent); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (0.64 percent); Palmdale, California (0.63 percent); Papendrecht, Netherlands (0.61 percent); Melbourne, Florida (0.56 percent); East Aurora, New York (0.54 percent); Irvine, California (0.53 percent); Arlington, Texas (0.53 percent); Valencia, California (0.53 percent); British Columbia, Canada, (0.52 percent); Camden, New Jersey (0.39); Garden Grove, California (0.37); Cheltenham, United Kingdom, (0.27); Hauppauge, New York (0.25 percent); Kjeller, Norway (0.23 percent); Grand Rapids, Michigan (0.22 percent); Clearfield, Utah (0.22 percent); St. Charles, Missouri (0.19 percent); Tempe, Arizona (0.17 percent); Williston, Vermont (0.16 percent); Avon, Massachusetts (0.16 percent); Wichita, Kansas (0.16 percent); Inglewood, California (0.13 percent); Sarasota, Florida (0.13 percent); Kongsberg, Norway (0.12 percent); Plano, Texas (0.12 percent); Helena, Montana (0.11 percent); Eskisehir, Turkey (0.11 percent); City of Industry, California (0.10 percent); Montmorency, Australia (0.10 percent); and other locations inside and outside the continental U.S. (0.92 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy); international partner;and foreign military sales funding in the amount of $250,438,817 will be obligated at time of award, $168,038,355 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchase for the Air Force ($86,299,673; 34.46 percent); Marine Corps ($44,887,147; 17.92 percent); Navy ($36,851,534; 14.71 percent); Foreign Military Sales customers ($41,216,398; 16.46 percent); and international partners ($41,184,065; 16.45 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
29 Aug 18. Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, is awarded a five-year performance-based logistics contract (N00383-18-D-PH01) in the amount of $59,717,916 for support of the CH-53 and V-22 Forward Looking Infrared System. The first delivery order for the first year of the contract will be issued concurrently with the award of the basic contract in the amount of $15,971,160. Work will be performed by the contractor in McKinney, Texas (50 percent); El Segundo, California (45 percent); and Jacksonville, Florida (5 percent). Fiscal 2018 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $15,971,160 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the contract ordering period. One firm was solicited for this non-competitive requirement, and one offer was received in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6-302-1. The U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
27 Aug 18. Sparton Corporation (NYSE:SPA) and Ultra Electronics Holdings plc (ULE) announce the award of subcontracts valued at $64.6m to their ERAPSCO joint venture, for the manufacture of sonobuoys for the United States Navy. The award is a GFY18 ERAPSCO Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract release for sonobuoy requirements under ERAPSCO’s five year contract. ERAPSCO will provide production subcontracts in the amount of $30.3m and $34.3m to Ultra Electronics USSI and Sparton DeLeon Springs, LLC respectively. Production will take place at Ultra Electronics USSI’s Columbia City, IN facility and Sparton’s DeLeon Springs, FL facility and is expected to be completed by April 2020. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
TECHNOLOGY
30 Aug 18. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) as one of the performers for its Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI). The decision was announced by DARPA during the first annual ERI Summit in San Francisco, California, in July. The five-year research initiative led by DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office is potentially worth upward of $1.5bn over five years, shared among all participants. Established by DARPA in 2017, the initiative is comprised of existing programs as well as six new programs – two for each of the three key research thrusts. The initiative has been crafted to spark the next wave of U.S. semiconductor advancement, particularly in the areas of microsystem materials, designs, architectures and integration. ERI is meant to increase momentum for innovation in the microelectronics industry while maintaining technical superiority and advancing national defense. Northrop Grumman, along with subcontractor JITX, headquartered in Berkeley, California, was one of 11 chosen research teams to perform on the Intelligent Design of Electronic Assets program, one of the efforts part of the ERI. The company will attempt to create an automated electronic circuit layout generator that enables users with no experience to create circuit designs ready for manufacturing within 24 hours. The technology could reduce design times for electronic circuitry from potentially years to a single day.
30 Aug 18. ViaSat Inc., Carlsbad, California, was awarded a non-competitive, firm-fixed-price contract to provide senior leaders and their support staff with Ku-band and Ka-band communications utilizing ViaSat subscription service while travelling via aircraft. The face value of this action is $55,687,458 funded by fiscal 2018 and 2019 operations and maintenance funding. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $559,850,730. Performance will be primarily in California and Colorado. Proposals were solicited via electronic means and one proposal was received. The synopsis/notice of intent was posted on April 10, 2018, on the Federal Business Opportunities webpage at fedbizopps.gov. The period of performance is Sept. 1, 2018, through Aug. 31, 2019, with seven 12-month option periods. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC101318C0001).
REST OF THE WORLD
LAND
27 Aug 18. EOS selected to support Australia’s Land 400 programme. Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has been selected to supply remote weapon systems (RWSs) in support of the Australian Land 400 Phase 2 programme to procure more than 200 8×8 Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) from German manufacturer Rheinmetall. EOS said in a statement on 24 August that it will meet the requirement with the latest variant of its R-400S Mk 2 Direct Drive-Heavy Duty (D-HD) remote weapon station. The contract will be executed through its subsidiary EOS Defence Systems Pty Limited. The company added that the R-400S Mk 2 product is currently in full-rate production to meet existing contracts by early 2019. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
29 Aug 18. Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $44,840,658 modification (0006 01) to domestic Foreign Military Sales (United Arab Emirates) contract W52P1J-17-D-0043 for modernized day sensor assembly kits, modernized laser range finder designators, and flight code processors. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2022. Fiscal 2018 foreign military sales, and aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $44,840,658 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
TECHNOLOGY
30 Aug 18. BAE selects RTI Connext technology for RAAF’s JORN Phase VI upgrade. Industrial Internet of Things connectivity company Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is to deliver its connectivity technology for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) Phase VI upgrade programme. The RTI Connext Data Distribution Service (DDS) has been selected by BAE Systems Australia to be part of JORN’s advanced software system that will help improve the radar coverage area and data collected for the RAAF. This will enable the Australian Air Force to offer enhanced protection to the northern borders of the country. The technology has been selected by BAE as the connectivity framework for the software architecture due to real-time performance and security provided by the RTI products. (Source: airforce-technology.com)