UNITED KINGDOM
LAND
21 Jan 21. Elbit Systems’ UK Subsidiary Awarded $137m Contract to Supply the Future Target Acquisition Solution for Soldiers of the British Armed Forces. Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT, TASE: ESLT) (“Elbit Systems” or “the Company”) announced today that its UK subsidiary, Elbit Systems UK Ltd. (“Elbit Systems UK”), was awarded an approximately $137m (approximately £100m) contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to provide the British Armed Forces with the future target acquisition solution for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and Fire Support Teams under the Dismounted Joint Fires Integrators (“D-JFI”) program. The contract will be performed over a five-year period.
20 Jan 21. Battery manufacturer and supplier, Lincad, is celebrating a twelve-month extension of its battery supply contract with defence and logistics specialists, Team Leidos. The contract is to continue supplying a range of primary batteries for distribution to British armed forces deployed around the world. The batteries are mostly lithium chemistry, with many used in mission-critical applications. They are therefore required to conform to exacting UK Defence Standards. Lincad has invested further in its battery testing facilities to ensure that product supplied continues to maintain these required standards. Lincad also provides Team Leidos expertise in packing and labelling, ensuring suitable packaging for various transport modes, which includes full adherence with IATA transportation regulations. The original three-year contract with Team Leidos began in Q1 2018. After demonstrating good performance during the contract, Leidos has agreed to extend the contract until Q4 2021.
EUROPE
LAND
19 Jan 21. DroneShield receives first order under EU Police contract. The Sydney-based firm is set to deliver the first DroneGun Tactical to the European Union’s police forces. DroneShield has announced it has received an initial $100,000 order for its DroneGun Tactical product under the European Union Police Framework Agreement. The agreement was signed in May 2020, following a Belgium Police-led procurement process. (Source: Defence Connect)
18 Jan 21. France’s Delegation for Armaments (DGA) has ordered 364 Serval armoured vehicles for the French Army. The vehicle, built by a partnership between Nexter and Texelis, is part of France’s mass modernisation of its land forces under Project Scorpion. Nexter and Texelis will deliver the first 12 production Servals in the first half of 2022, with a further 96 vehicles to come later in the same year. The order was agreed on 23 December but was not made public until 15 January. Sharing its name with France’s 2013 mission in Mali, the Serval is a 15-tonne armoured vehicle featuring the Scorpion Combat Information System (SICS) designed to network France’s new fleet of ground vehicles. Across the Scorpion programme, France is developing 6,000 new vehicles including upgraded main battle tanks, troop carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and protected mortar carriers. Alongside the Griffon, Serval will replace the in-service Véhicule de l’avant blindé (VABs), which has been in service since the 1970s. The vehicle has been described as the future ‘workhorse’ of the French Army. In total, France plans to order around 2,038 Serval with deliveries expected to continue until 2032. (Source: army-technology.com)
SEA
21 Jan 21. DSIT Solutions Ltd. – a world leader in underwater defense and security solutions based on advanced state-of-the-art sonar and acoustics technologies for naval, homeland security and energy applications – supplies a NATO country with its PointShield Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) system. PointShield is a fully automatic, high-performance PDDS system designed for underwater ship and site protection. The sophisticated, cost-effective system secures nuclear power facilities, underwater pipelines and cables, naval bases, ports, offshore platforms, and oil and gas terminals as well as ships of all sizes and displacements. Continuously monitoring over 1,000 sonar contacts simultaneously in real time, PointShield enables rapid detection of underwater threat locations, providing a tactical picture in short- and medium-ranges. Modular with flexible architecture, sensors can cover any required sector from 0° to 360°. Multiple units can work simultaneously, controlled from a single Command & Display unit that provides intuitive displays and menus. The system’s open architecture supports the easy interface with any sensor and C&C system.
20 Jan 21. NS50 radar to equip the Belgium Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy next generation Mine Counter Measures Vessels (MCMV).
- Through this contract for its new NS50 radar, Thales is proud to serve both the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands through the next generation MCMV contract with Kership – a joint venture between Naval Group and Piriou.
- The NS50 radar introduces a complete and high level of self-protection capability against air and surface threats for high value ships.
- The NS50 radar is a game changer: it is the world’s first compact multi-mission 4D AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar available in the market for smaller vessels offering both Air and Surface surveillance with missile and Gun Fire control.
The navies of Belgium and the Netherlands rely on Thales, Naval Group and KERSHIP shipyard to equip the 12 next generation Mine Counter Measures Vessels with NS50 radars for Air & Surface Surveillance with Fire Control capabilities.
The NS50 provides for the first time a complete and superior level of self-protection capability against air and surface threats for this category of high value MCM vessels. A strategic choice for small to medium vessels, the NS50 offers dual functions between air and surface surveillance and fire control.
The nature of threats faced by Navies has never been more varied nor more challenging, ranging from next generation anti-ship missiles, robotic warfare and swarm attacks, to electronic warfare (jamming) as well as, overall, having to operate in a simultaneously conventional, asymmetric and hybrid threat environment. Time and quality of information are critical when facing this new array of unpredictable simultaneous threats. The NS50 provides maximum time on target for forces to evaluate the threat and take countermeasures while, at the same time, understanding what is around them to safeguard the ship and to protect their own allied forces.
AIR
18 Jan 21. Slovenia to procure Spartan airlifter. Slovenia is to acquire the Leonardo C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, with the country’s government announcing on 15 January that the Covid-19 pandemic had exposed a lack of national airlift capacity and capability. Having evaluated a number of options, the Slovenian 15th Aviation Wing (15th Polk Vojaskega Letalstva: 15th PVL) component of the joint Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) is to receive one or two of the Italian-built airlifters by 2025. (Source: Jane’s)
19 Jan 21. Rheinmetall to supply digital classroom for the German Navy’s new NH90 NTH Sea Lion multipurpose helicopter at Nordholz Naval Air Base. The German Navy is once again counting on simulation expertise from Rheinmetall when it comes to training its NH90 NTH Sea Lion helicopter crews. In December 2020 the European NH90 procurement and management organization, NAHEMA, awarded the company an order for an Asterion classroom solution destined for Naval Air Wing 3 at Nordholz on the North Sea coast. Delivery will take place later this year. The digital Asterion classroom will be used to train maintenance personnel for the NH90 NTH Sea Lion naval transport helicopter.
USA
LAND
19 Jan 21. General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), announced today it has been awarded the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) Enterprise Mission Information Technology Services (EMITS) task order by the General Services Administration (GSA). The task order, awarded in fourth-quarter 2020, has a total estimated value of $695m over a five-year period, inclusive of a three-month transition, one-year base period and four one-year options. GDIT will deliver enterprise information technology, communications and mission command support services to USAREUR headquarters, US North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations, and other forward deployed Department of Defense (DoD) organizations and Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) in Europe. Prior to this award, GDIT worked in tandem with the United States Army in Europe through the USAREUR G6 Theater Mission Command Contract (TMCC) II task order awarded to GDIT in 2016. (Source: PR Newswire)
21 Jan 21. Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today it has received an initial contract award for 28 Initial Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) Mission Equipment Packages (MEP) from General Dynamics Land Systems (GD) in support of the U.S. Army’s recent IM-SHORAD production award. The award, received on December 2nd 2020, is the first of a five-year contract valued at more than $600m. The centerpiece of the MEP is Moog’s Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP®) turret with multiple kinetic effectors including the XM914 30mm cannon and M240 7.62mm machine gun, along with Stinger and Longbow HELLFIRE missiles. The MEP also includes an on-board Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (MHR) to provide persistent 360 degrees of aerial surveillance, identification friend or foe and other mission essential technologies. This production contract award marks the successful completion of an aggressive prototype program that delivered nine prototypes and completed government testing in just two years. Leonardo DRS will begin delivering the MEPs to General Dynamics for final integration onto purpose-built Strykers next year.
21 Jan 21. Lockheed Martin awarded OpFires Phase 3b contract. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control a USD58.9m contract to advance the Phase 3 development of the Operational Fires (OpFires) hypersonic surface-to-surface weapon system to initial system flight testing later this year. Announced on 11 January, the Phase 3b contract follows the company’s successful delivery of the Phase 3a integrated system preliminary design review (PDR) in November 2020 and resultant comprehensive design and test plan, and provides for full-scale missile fabrication, assembly, and flight testing from a launch vehicle to achieve a system-level critical design maturity. The estimated completion date for the Phase 3b contract is January 2022. (Source: Jane’s)
19 Jan 21. VINCORION Receives Order for 40 PAC-3® Chassis Kits. Mechatronics manufacturer VINCORION has received an order to supply 40 chassis kits for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile and air defense system’s Enhanced Launcher Electronics System (ELES). The company was awarded the contract by the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas. The order has a total value of approximately 8.4m euros and represents an extension of an order the company received in 2019. As a result, the total order value has increased to approximately 17.4m euros. Delivery is scheduled to begin in June 2021. Enhanced Launcher Electronics System a Key Component of the PAC-3 System. The PAC-3 system is a technological upgrade to the ground-based Patriot missile and air defense system, which is used around the world to defend against aircraft, cruise missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles. The current configuration allows the use of 16 instead of the original four missiles – effectively quadrupling the firepower. In addition, the missiles feature greater agility as well as greater accuracy due to being equipped with a radar homing head. This advancement is a prerequisite for effectively intercepting cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. A key part of the upgrade is the Enhanced Launcher Electronics System. VINCORION has been supplying the ELES kits for the PAC-3 system since 1999, initially as a subcontractor of Daimler Chrysler Aerospace and then of MBDA/GLVS. The company has been a first-tier supplier to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control since 2012.
AIR
20 Jan 21. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a $2,124,531,149 modification (P00232) to contract FA8625-11-C-6600 for Lot 7 production KC-46 aircraft, subscriptions and licenses and G081 flat file. The modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 15 KC-46 aircraft, data, subscriptions and licenses, and G081 flat file being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed May 31, 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
21 Jan 21. Northrop Grumman, San Diego, California, has been awarded a $3,600,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) operations, sustainment and support. This contract provides for research, development, test, and evaluation, integration and operations and sustainment for existing and future payloads contained in or connected to the BACN system and associated ground stations or controls, ancillary equipment, support equipment and system integration laboratories. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and overseas locations, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 24, 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $23,673,035 are being obligated with the initial task order, FA8726-21-F-0023, at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8726-21-D-0001).
TECHNOLOGY
21 Jan 21. Iron Bow Technologies has been awarded a $950,000,000 ceiling indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the maturation, demonstration and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains, leveraging open systems design, modern software and algorithm development in order to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). This contract is part of a multiple award multi-level security effort to provide development and operation of systems as a unified force across all domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber and electromagnetic spectrum) in an open architecture family of systems that enables capabilities via multiple integrated platforms. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
18 Jan 21. QinetiQ Inc. has been awarded OASIS Pool 3 and Pool 4 unrestricted prime contracts by the General Services Administration (GSA). One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) is a family of seven separate multiple-award, five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts available to all Federal agencies for the procurement of complex professional services. QinetiQ Inc. will compete for government-wide engineering, technical, and scientific services contracts under Pool 3 for efforts primarily engaged in Military/Aerospace Engineering and under Pool 4 for Scientific Research and Development (R&D) efforts. As a Best-in-Class preferred government-wide solution, the OASIS vehicle is a multiple-award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (MA-IDIQ) contract that provides flexible and innovative solutions for federal agencies seeking complex professional services. The core disciplines offered through its seven pools, or MA-IDIQ task order contracts (MATOCs), include engineering, scientific, management consulting, program management, logistics and financial services. (Source: PR Newswire)
21 Jan 21. Rolls-Royce Secures Research Contract With US Navy to Develop Innovative Debris Detection Technology. Rolls-Royce has been awarded $1m of research funding from the US Government for digital foreign object debris (FOD) detection technology. The year-long research contract from the US Navy, will help to further develop and validate Rolls-Royce’s FanSenseTM debris monitoring system, which is currently supporting the Pegasus engine. FanSense works by analysing the shaft speed signal of an engine and is able to detect any disruptions that arise as a result of a small object, such as stones or screws, striking an engine fan blade. The innovative technology applied as part of this service offering, will allow customers across Civil and Defence industries to detect much smaller debris entering the engine, enabling them to build a clearer picture of FOD damage and engine wear over time and will help to identify airfields that need to improve their FOD prevention practices. FOD is estimated to cost the global aviation industry billions of dollars per year in damage and disruption. The vast majority of ingested debris currently goes undetected – only when very large items are ingested do operators have any indication that something has made its way into the engine. Rolls-Royce will continue to work with a long-standing industrial partner, Roke, to deliver the contract. The FanSense technology adds to Rolls-Royce’s portfolio of FOD prevention offerings, including the FOD App, the FOD cloud data analysis service and FOD officers. The vision for FOD technology is to build a digital system that is able to predict FOD events before they occur by analysing data collected from the app and using vehicle tracking sensors and debris tracking radars. FanSense adds a key missing piece to this system, determining the exact time and location of historic FOD events, which will enable customers to predict the conditions in which ingestion of a harmful object is likely to occur. (Source: ASD Network)
22 Jan 21. VOS Systems, LLC, makers of AlertTrace, announced today its partnership with the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, to safeguard service members from COVID-19. AlertTrace is an accurate and affordable contact tracing solution with user-friendly software, encrypted and secured anonymous data for maximum privacy protection, and no tracking or GPS capabilities. “All devices using radio frequency have a difficult time collecting accurate information onboard a naval vessel. We determined that device placement and using the VOS Systems auto-calibration firmware gave AlertTrace a high degree of accuracy that other contact tracing systems could not match,” said VOS Systems CIO, Nir Livay. At slightly larger than a U.S. quarter, AlertTrace is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device that actively detects other AlertTrace devices within a customized range and registers it as a contact. If an individual tests positive for a contagious infection, the system will quickly identify that person’s historical anonymized contacts. This enables exposed individuals to be quarantined, while the unexposed population can safely continue their essential activities. (Source: PR Newswire)
REST OF THE WORLD
LAND
15 Jan 21. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, is being awarded a sole-source, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price definite contract under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The total value of this contract is $254,708,912. Under this follow-on contract, the contractor will provide maintenance and sustainment for two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries for UAE. The maintenance and sustainment scope of work includes providing logistics management, logistics product database, training, missile and ground repair and return, hardware/software development and sustainment, hardware in the loop, engineering services, missile field surveillance program and country unique specialty engineering for FMS client. The work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California; Grande Prairie, Texas; Camden, Arkansas; Huntsville, Alabama; Anniston, Alabama; and Troy, Alabama. The performance period is from Jan. 15, 2021, through Jan. 14, 2026. One offer was solicited and one offer was received. UAE FMS funds in the amount of $254,708,912 will be used to fund this effort. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-19-C-5001).
TECHNOLOGY
20 Jan 21. Australia renews Nucleus Cyber contract. The archTis subsidiary’s annual software subscription licence has been renewed by the Department of Defence. Defence has renewed a software subscription licence for archTIS subsidiary Nucleus Cyber’s NC Protect product, valued at $148,866 per year. According to archTIS, the contract extension demonstrates the value of the NC Protect product and its attribute-based access controls (ABAC) security model with the Microsoft software stack for Defence. The NC Protect solution is designed to leverage existing technology investments to provide a simpler, faster and cheaper solution aimed at tailoring information protection for file sharing, messaging and chat across an organisation’s collaboration tools. (Source: Defence Connect)
21 Jan 21. IFS to propel major transformation project for India’s largest defence manufacturer. IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has signed a contract with Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions and the prime contractor for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to enable HAL’s Project Parivartan Program, a US$ 54m (Rs 400 crore) business transformation project. Dubbed Project Parivartan and conceived as a comprehensive business transformation exercise, the initiative will involve large-scale implementation of technological enhancements to establish new work processes based on industry best practice. The comprehensive IFS solution will replace a large number of disparate business systems in HAL with a central, consolidated platform that will empower staff with easy access to accurate data. The project will also provide enhanced inventory visibility and purchasing power, powerful financial capabilities and group-level consolidation.