14 Mar 07. Chinook Helicopters: Logistic Support. The Boeing Company announced (14 Mar 07) that it had assumed responsibility for the UK’s Chinook Through Life Customer Support (TLCS) programme. The Company is now providing spare parts, support equipment and component repairs for the RAF’s 40 Chinook and their 14,000 part numbers.
Comment: The TLCS contract is a 34-year partnership running from 22 May 06, which is worth approximately $360m (£185m) for the first five years. The RAF’s Mk2 and Mk2a Chinook were planned to leave the service
in 2015 and 2025 but a Sustainment Programme is extending both dates until 2040 (hence the reference to a 34-year programme). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0712, 19 Mar 07)
28 Mar 07. Boeing has elevated Rockwell Collins to major subcontractor status on the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T), a transformational Department of Defense (DoD) initiative. The announcement was made in conjunction with Rockwell Collins receiving an award for an additional $74m in technology development contract expansions for the first increment of wideband satellite communications terminals for the program. Boeing cited the company’s outstanding SATCOM execution performance to date on the program. This elevation adds to Rockwell Collins’ existing $53m contract for a total current program worth more than $127m, with opportunities for further expansions in future increments.
28 Mar 07. Raytheon Company will lead an industry team in pursuit of Network and Space Operations & Maintenance, or NSOM, a program to provide operations and
maintenance services to the Air Force Satellite Control Network. The NSOM program, which will be administered by the Air Force Space Command’s 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., will be executed over the next seven years.
22 Mar 07. Oracle and Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company [NYSE: LMT], teamed up to provide a critical information link to track in real time the location of cargo containers shipped from Hong Kong to Japan. The work has just been completed as a pilot project initiated by GS1 EPCglobal, the not-for-profit standards organization driving adoption of the Electronic Product Code to improve supply chain performance. The milestone project was the first time that real-time information generated from active, battery-powered RFID tags on sea containers was exchanged with EPC Information Services (EPCIS), a draft GS1 EPCglobal standard enabling trading partners to communicate in a common computer language on objects moving throughout the supply chain. The communication interface with the EPCIS Server and Repository was enabled through integration of Oracle® Sensor Edge Server, a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, as well as Savi Site Manager operating software and active RFID tag and data collection systems.