EUROPE
25 Jul 05. Lockheed Martin has secured a $67m long-lead contract from the U.S. Air Force to begin development of a major systems upgrade for Turkish F-16 fighter jets. The upgrade program will create a robust, common avionics configuration for the Turkish Air Force’s F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 aircraft, plus a modest modification to their Block 30s. The total contract is valued at around $800m, and will be finalized in mid-2006. (Source: Defense News)
27 Jul 05. Spain’s Defense Ministry has chosen Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply combat systems for the navy’s new submarines, in preference to a European manufacturer, the ministry said. The state-owned military shipbuilder Navantia, which was split off from the loss-making group Izar earlier this year, is building the four S-80 conventionally powered submarines. (Source: REUTERS/Defense News)
20 July 05. Guided Weapons ‘Tower of Excellence’ awards £2m contract to QinetiQ-led consortium. A consortium led by QinetiQ has just won one of the first contracts to be funded by the Government’s ‘Guided Weapons Tower of Excellence’ initiative. Lasting three years, this £2m programme will concentrate on the development of new concepts for terminal missile guidance and seeker technologies – the final target acquisition stage – for guided weapons.
28 Jul 05. Thales has been awarded a £4.1m contract by the Western European Armaments Organisation (WEAO) to supply a missile seeker technology demonstrator known as DUMAS (Dual Mode Active IR and Imaging IR Seeker). The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), French Délégation Générale pour l’Armement (DGA) and Industry are jointly funding the four-year programme, under the auspices of the European Research Grouping Arrangement No.1. (EUROPA MOU). The DUMAS project will provide demonstrator hardware for flight trials on board a French PUMA helicopter in 2007/8.
25 Jul 05. For the first time EADS is equipping frigates of the German Navy with the MIDS (Multifunctional Information Distribution System) data link system. As the company announced on Monday, EADS Defence Electronics has signed a contract with IBM Germany for the delivery of eight MIDS LVT (Low Volume Terminals) for frigates of the class F122. The equipment of the F122 frigates of the German Navy with the LINK 16 data link systems enables vessels, aircraft and commando units of other services and multinational partners to exchange tactical data in real time. The MIDS order is part of the programme to adapt the capabilities for command & control and weapon deployment systems of the F122 frigates.
29 Jul 05. BAE Systems has received a contract valued in excess of £30m from the UK MoD for the provision of Harrier mechanical support on an availability basis. Under the contract BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support will ensure that a wide range of structural and mechanical components will be available for front line aircraft when they are needed. Typical components include windscreens/canopies, access panels, undercarriage doors and detailed components.
25 Jul 05. Frazer-Nash Consultancy, has been selected to develop the requirements for the initial in-service support for the Royal Navy’s new Astute class Submarines, HMS Astute, HMS Artful and HMS Ambush. The competitive contract awarded by The Attack Submarines Integrated Project Team (ASM IPT) involves the development of the detailed technical requirements specification for the in-service support of the platforms. The ASM IPT will base the future in-service support contract on the requirements specification to be developed by Frazer-Nash.
04 Jul 05. Rheinmetall awarded €30m tank ammunition contract. New technology in response to new military requirements Germany’s Bundeswehr has awarded the Rheinmetall Group with a tank ammunition contract worth approximately €30m. The ammunition is designed especially for the Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT). The contract was signed on July 1, 2005 at the Federal Agency for Defence