18 Nov 14. India ‘cancels’ South Korean minesweepers deal. India is reportedly terminating the long-pending deal to purchase South Korean mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs), as part of efforts to bolster its fleet of warships with the potential to detonate sea mines. A final decision to cancel the original $436m minesweepers procurement deal with South Korean firm Kangnam, which was signed in October 2011, may take place ‘in the next few days’, according to sources. However, the Indian Government plans to issue a fresh tender for MCMVs soon. The South Korean MCMVs are highly specialised small warships, designed to detect, track and destroy enemy mines. The Indian defence public sector undertaking (PSU) Goa Shipyard (GSL) will be nominated for the construction of eight vessels, with support from foreign organisations. An undisclosed source was quoted by the Times of India as saying: “Under the new tender or RFP (request for proposal), all the eight MCMVs will now be built in India by GSL. “The defence shipyard will tie up with a foreign collaborator, which can include Kangnam since it’s not being blacklisted.” As part of the previous deal, two MCMVs and a transfer of technology were to be procured from Kangnam for $436m, with Goa Shipyard responsible for an additional six vessels for more than $970m. The first vessel was expected to be delivered by 2016, with the others running through to 2018. Currently, the Indian Navy has seven Karwar and Pondicherry-class minesweepers for the Eastern and the Western seaboard. It needs 24 to deliver the required defence. (Source: naval-technology.com)
16 Nov 14. US looking to replace re-manufactured MH-47Gs with newbuild helos. The US Army is looking at options for replacing its remanufactured Boeing MH-47G special-mission Chinook helicopters with newbuild platforms. According to a request for information (RfI) released on 14 November, the Technology Applications Program Office is conducting market research in support of the acquisition for the production of replacement airframes for the currently fielded 61 legacy MH-47G aircraft. “The expected end result of this effort will be a modernised fleet of MH-47G airframes based on the current […] MH-47G newbuild aircraft,” the RfI states. Responses to this RfI are requested by 5 January 2015. The disclosure that the US Army is looking to replace its rebuilt MH-47G helicopters comes just weeks after the service took delivery of the first of eight newbuild platforms. With the final re-manufactured aircraft having been delivered to the US Army in 2011, these aircraft have seen an extremely high tempo of operations in the harsh environment of Afghanistan. Used by special forces, such as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the MH-47G differs from regular-model Chinooks in that it is equipped with double-capacity fuel tanks, an in-flight aerial refuelling probe, a digital advanced flight control system, and sensors and electronic warfare kit specified by the Special Operations Command. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
08 Nov 14. Australia – Software development for the cyber & electronic warfare division. The Australian DoD has released a request for tender looking for suppliers of information security solutions to better secure desktops of the department. The Cyber & Electronic Warfare Division (CEWD), Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) at Edinburgh, South Australia, have a requirement for the further development of Windows software to support the implementation of a secure desktop. This work would build on existing software that identifies window regions (e.g., applications, desktop icons, tool tips, menus, pop-ups, taskbars, dialogue boxes, etc.) on a running Windows 7 session.
Closing date: 5 December 2014
Issuing Authority: Department for Defence
Reference Number: RFT2014-274
(Source: MPI – Hawk Information)
03 Nov 14. Joint Project 2008 Phase 5B2 tender delayed to February 2015. The Australian Department of De