14 Oct 04. The Defence Procurement Minister and Raytheon/Lockheed Martin announced that a follow-on order for Javelin ATGW, worth “around” £100m, had been placed. No details of the number of Command Launch Units (CLU) nor the number of missiles involved were released. Comment: The selection of Javelin to equip 3 Commando Brigade, 16 Air Assault Brigade and the Mechanised Infantry was announced on 23 Jan 03. The £300m contract (subsequently £318m) is for a number of CLU “in the order of 350” and a ‘classified’ number of missiles (estimated by DR&A as 3,900). The in-service date for Javelin is November 2005. The follow-on order now announced is to equip Armoured Infantry and Formation Reconnaissance units, which should receive their improved ATGW from 2007. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 04/40, 18 Oct 04)

11 Oct 04. The Defence Procurement Minister said that the MoD was engaged in “exploratory discussions” with the Government of Chile concerning “the possible sale of three surplus Type 23 frigates”. The net book value of each of the ships concerned, as at 31 Mar 04, was said to be: HMS NORFOLK – £45m;HMS MARLBOROUGH – £51m and HMS GRAFTON – £74m. Comment: ‘DLO News’ (October 2004) reported the recent signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between Chile and the UK, enabling the Chilean Navy to access technical and logistic support services associated with UK designed warships. The early decommissioning of the above three frigates was announced by the Defence Secretary on 21 Jul 04. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 04/40, 18 Oct 04)

19 Oct 04. Computer Sciences Corp. said Tuesday it received a contract worth up to $50m to support the Air Force’s Network Centric Solutions program designed to streamline IT ordering, delivery and support. The contract — which falls under a project led by defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. — is a multi-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, with three base years and two one-year options. The Northrop-led team will provide operations and maintenance support to the program, including telecommunications services, network engineering, systems installation and integration, and software development and maintenance. Computer Sciences’ Aerospace organization will support the program out of its Colorado Springs, Colo., office.

18 Oct 04. Lockheed Martin Corporation is among eight companies selected for contracts to support the U.S. DoD Advanced Technology Support Program III (ATSP3), a 15-year initiative potentially worth up to $4.7 billion.
The ATSP3, administered by the DoD’s Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) in Sacramento, CA, enables government customers to quickly place contracts and sharply reduce procurement costs for specific projects because both the contractor and government teams are focused on customer needs and achieving the best, most timely solutions. The program is a broad-scope electronics engineering contracting vehicle that covers a five-year base term ending in September 2009, with a $1.3 billion ceiling. The contract also has two five-year options that provide coverage through September 2019 and carry a combined $3.4 billion ceiling. ATSP3 contractors will be required to develop advanced technology solutions to support problems such as reliability, maintainability, performance and diminishing manufacturing sources for items with varying degrees of complexity, including discrete electronics, integrated circuits, modules, circuit boards, assemblies, subsystems and systems. This support includes studies and analyses, hardware and software development, prototyping, testing and limited production.

18 Oct 04. SI International, Inc. announced that the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has awarded SI International an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract for Advisory and Assistance Services and Engineering Technical Assistance (CAASETA) for Headquarters AFSPC at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The c