EUROPE
23 Aug 05. Airborne Countermeasures: Partnering Agreement. Cobham announced that Wallop Defence Systems Ltd (WDSL) had entered into a Partnering Agreement with the MoD for the supply and development of air countermeasures in support of the Armed Forces. The “rolling agreement” is valued at approximately £6m, with options up to £18m. Comment: WDSL manufactures and supplies aircraft infra-red countermeasures, decoys, flares, anti-ship missile countermeasures, rockets and similar pyrotechnics. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 05/34, 29 Aug 05)
31 Aug 05. European aerospace firm EADS, U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman and Spain’s Indra have joined forces to bid for a missile defense contract for the NATO military alliance. The team will pursue a systems engineering and integration contract that will form a key part of a system to protect alliance forces against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday. “The proliferation of missiles of all ranges presents a significant threat to NATO nations and alliance forces,” Gary Abercrombie, vice president of Northrop’s Mission Systems unit, said. The contract is due to be awarded in the second quarter of 2006 and would be worth about €80m ($97.59m) over 6-7 years.
29 Aug 05. Saft has been awarded a contract by the German Federal Office of Defence Technology (BWB) to supply 20,000 primary lithium battery systems from its Friwo brand. They will power the German Army’s SEM70 portable military radio sets. BWB has been sourcing Friwo primary batteries since the 1980s and this latest order consolidates Saft’s position as the leading supplier of primary lithium battery systems to the German military services. Saft is supplying the primary battery systems for the SEM70 radio sets as ready-to-fit packages, in robust plastic housings complete with resilient socket connections and electronic state-of-charge indicators. Each battery system will comprise six Friwo LM33600 lithium manganese dioxide (LiMnO2) D-size cells connected in series to provide a nominal 18 V and 10 Ah capacity in a package weighing 750 g.
LiMnO2 primary batteries offer a number of advantages for military applications including : high energy, low weight, reduced self-discharge rate – for a long shelf-life in storage, and the ability to operate under extreme conditions such as temperatures ranging from -40°C to +70°C. The Friwo LM33600 cells are the newest generation of high rate primary lithium cell, and are based on a spiral wound solid state manganese dioxide cathode construction and a lithium foil anode installed into a laser welded stainless steel can. The unique electrolyte is composed of organic solvents, mainly ethers, which are neither toxic nor corrosive. Saft will supply the SEM70 battery systems over an eight-month contract period, starting in October 2005. They will be manufactured under the Friwo brand by the Saft Group in its high-tech facilities in Büdingen, Hessen, Germany. Saft’s capability to provide local manufacture and supply of the batteries in Germany offers a number of important advantages for BWB including fast, on-time, delivery, increased security of supply and enhanced support services provided by native German-speaking engineers.
28 Aug 05. Saab wins MSEK 150 order for Gripen support systems. Saab has received an order from FMV to develop support systems for the JAS 39 Gripen. The order is worth MSEK 150 and is a supplement to the existing contract for Gripen support systems. The order encompasses Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) for support and maintenance of the Gripen system. LRUs are systems and equipment onboard the aircraft that can be replaced quickly and simply when required.
30 Aug 05. Serco Group plc has announced that it has been selected as preferred bidder by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) for a 15-year strategic partnership, called ‘Project INSPIRE’. The contract, valued at approx