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25 Sep 19. McKean Defense wins US Navy engineering services contract. McKean Defense Group has received a new five-year contract from the US Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWC PD). The cost-plus contract has a value in excess of $21m. McKean will provide engineering, logistics, and technical services for the Auxiliary Machinery Systems division at NSWC PD.
The Auxiliary Machinery Systems division handles auxiliary machinery, fluid systems and auxiliary system controls. The contract will also include performing studies and analysis of equipment and machinery for aircraft carriers, surface ships, and submarines. It will cover main propulsion steam, secondary steam, and air conditioning, as well as refrigeration, compressed air, and ventilation.
McKean Defense CEO Joseph Carlini said: “McKean engineers and analysts have supported this work since the early days of our company. “The mission has evolved, and with our partners, we are ready to continue support to these important programmes.”
Seven firms make up the company’s team that will deliver the contract. The contract work will be performed primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McKean intends to hire employees in various roles, including software developers, programme and financial analysts, and engineers.
Last month, McKean won two contracts from NSWC PD. The first contract involves work in support of the DDG Flight IIA and Flight III Machinery Control Systems programme. Services to be provided include cybersecurity engineering, testing, computer programme development and equipment harvesting/obsolescence. The second contract includes the provision of system design and integration, test and evaluation, logistics, and system installation for ships navigation and integration bridge systems. (Source: naval-technology.com)
22 Sep 19. Here’s every ship activated for TRANSCOM’s massive sealift surge, and what they do. U.S. Transportation Command announced this week the largest simultaneous activation of sealift vessels in its history, a stress test of the aging logistics fleet that would be called upon to move up to 90 percent of Army and Marine Corps equipment in the event of a major conflict.
The bulk of the ships activated are the Ready Reserve Force. That group of 46 ships is permanently kept in a reduced operating status, to be activated on short notice. The Maritime Administration has repeatedly warned that the ships are aging and difficult to man due to obsolete equipment.
In total, 22 of the 28 ships activated for the exercise are from the Ready Reserve Force, which is about 48 percent of the fleet. Crewing those ships has been an increasing challenge in recent years due in part to the requirements on mariners to maintain licenses to operate steam-powered ships, which have all but disappeared from the commercial sector.
“In the past they’ve been able to rob the other ships to sort of fill out those numbers,” said Sal Mercogliano, a former mariner and maritime historian at Campbell University. “They’re not going to be able to do that activating 28 ships at the same time … this is going to be a true stress test of the system, both on the maintenance of the vessels and the crewing of the vessels.”
Here’s a list of all 28 of the ships that TRANSCOM activated for the exercise, displacing more than 1.25 million tons, according to Maritime Administration and Military Sealift Command fact sheets.
Maritime pre-positioning ships, used to forward-deploy Army stores and gear for use in a crisis. The roll-on/roll-off ships transport cargo vehicles:
- USNS Benavidez, large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off from Norfolk, Virginia, displacing 62,644 tons.
- USNS Fisher, large medium-speed RO/RO from Bremerton, Washington, displacing 62,644 tons.
- USNS Gilliland, large medium-speed RO/RO from Baltimore, Maryland, displacing 62,644 tons.
- USNS Mendonca, large medium-speed RO/RO from Norfolk, Virginia, displacing 62,644 tons.
Container and RO/RO ships haul containerized equipment and stores, and can accommodate vehicles:
- USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak, container and RO/RO from Newport News, Virginia, displacing 51,162 tons.
- USNS Pfc. Eugene A. Obregon, container and RO/RO from Newport News, Virginia, displacing 51,162 tons.
Ready Reserve Force
Fast sealift ships
- SS Bellatrix, a high-speed vehicle and cargo ship that tops out at 33 knots out of Marrero, Louisiana, displacing 54,895 tons.
- SS Capella, a high-speed vehicle and cargo ship that tops out at 33 knots out of San Francisco, California, displacing 54,895 tons.
- SS Regulus, a high-speed vehicle and cargo ship that tops out at 33 knots out of Beaumont, Texas, displacing 54,895 tons
Heavy-lift ships
- SS Cape Mohican, a heavy-lift barge carrier out of Oakland, California, displacing 57,290 tons.
Crane ships
- SS Cornhusker State, a crane ship used for lifting heavy loads and for off-shore construction out of Newport News, Virginia, displacing 26,670 tons.
- SS Grand Canyon State, a crane ship used for lifting heavy loads and for off-shore construction out of Alameda, California, displacing 26,670 tons.
Aviation logistics support ships
- SS Curtiss, an aviation maintenance support ship out of San Diego, California, displacing 27,980 tons.
RO/RO ships
- GTS MV Admiral W. M. Callaghan, RO/RO and lift-on/lift-off container ship out of Alameda, California, displacing 26,537 tons.
- SS Cape Island, RO/RO out of Tacoma, Washington, displacing 36,027 tons.
- SS Cape Inscription, RO/RO out of Long Beach, California, displacing 36,027 tons.
- MV Cape Decision, RO/RO out of Charleston, South Carolina, displacing 34,617 tons.
- MV Cape Douglas, RO/RO out of Charleston, South Carolina, displacing 34,617 tons.
- MV Cape Ducato, RO/RO out of Charleston, South Carolina, displacing 34,617 tons.
- MV Cape Edmont, RO/RO out of Charleston, South Carolina, displacing 34,617 tons.
- MV Cape Kennedy, RO/RO out of New Orleans, Louisiana, displacing 44,466 tons.
- MV Cape Knox, RO/RO out of New Orleans, Louisiana, displacing 44,466 tons.
- MV Cape Ray, RO/RO out of Portsmouth, Virginia, displacing 35,369 tons.
- MV Cape Race, RO/RO out of Portsmouth, Virginia, displacing 35,369 tons.
- MV Cape Texas, RO/RO out of Beaumont, Texas, displacing 46,868 tons.
- MV Cape Trinity, RO/RO out of Beaumont, Texas, displacing 46,868 tons.
- MV Cape Washington, RO/RO out of Baltimore, Maryland, displacing 53,500 tons.
- MV Cape Wrath, RO/RO out of Baltimore, Maryland, displacing 53,500 tons. (Source: Defense News)
23 Sep 19. Kratos unit wins USAF contract to provide AFSAT spare parts. Kratos Unmanned Systems Division has been awarded a contract by the US Air Force (USAF) Life Cycle Management Center to provide spare parts for aerial targets. The firm-fixed-price sole-source acquisition contract is worth $35m. It requires the company to deliver Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT) peculiar spares.
According to the contract, Kratos Unmanned Systems Division will conduct the work at its facilities in Sacramento, California, with the completion expected in March 2024. The USAF has committed $220,861 at the time of the award.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Unmanned Systems Division president Steve Fendley said: “This welcomed announcement accompanies a week of successful meetings with our Air Force partners at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference. Kratos looks forward to continuing to support the US Air Force on this important contract and other current and future opportunities.”
The company provides unmanned aerial drone systems to the US and allied militaries for threat representative target missions. The systems will be used to test the performance of weapon systems and radars. Kratos also supplies tactical aerial drone systems in support of the strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISR, as well as force multiplication missions. In June, Kratos Unmanned Systems Division was awarded a contract to deliver 35 additional AFSAT production target aircraft to the USAF. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and life cycle sustainment services. For decades Oshkosh has been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition, Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4® independent suspension systems, TerraMax™ unmanned ground vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us at www.oshkoshdefense.com.
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