LOCATIONS
LAND
08 Jan 10. The Direction Générale pour l’Armement (DGA) has transferred a weapon research center to the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique nuclear energy commission, as part of its reform program, the procurement office said. The Gramat facility, near Toulouse, southwest France, is the national research center for evaluating the vulnerability of weapon systems to attack by nuclear and conventional armaments, the DGA said in a Jan. 6 statement. (Source: Defense News)
12 Jan 10. Cox Construction Co., Vista, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 8, 2010, a $6,754,600 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is to design and construct non-standard military operations urban training facility. This Phase IV of a four-phase program is to construct permanent urban operations training facilities to conduct force on force urban operations training at the battalion and brigade collective training level. Primary facilities for Phase IV include additional military operations terrain collective training facilities. Supporting facilities include site preparations, electric power and lighting, and paving and storm drainage. Work is to be performed in Fort Irwin, Calif., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities and Army Single Face to Industry Web sites, with seven bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Los Angeles, Calif., is the contracting activity (W912PL-10-C-0006).
08 Jan 10. General Dynamics Information Technology opened a enterprise data center in Westminster, Colo., to serve as the Technology Operations and Maintenance Infrastructure Support (TOMIS) program’s IT operations center on behalf of General Dynamics’ customer, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). General Dynamics was awarded the TOMIS program contract in 2007. This new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified operations center will meet the need for centralized, around-the-clock nationwide information technology (IT) enterprise service support with enhanced network and security monitoring. The facility will employ approximately 100 skilled IT workers when fully staffed including service desk agents, IT security specialists, network engineers, systems engineers and system administrators for DHS as well as other GD clients. This is in addition to the jobs created during the construction and design of the facility.
13 Jan 10. UK forces are to use modified plastic pig ark pens made by Dumfries-based Solway Recycling as domed roofs to simulate training environments for combat operations in Afghanistan. The modified ark pens will be used on training ranges to provide a domed position to simulate awkward firing positions. More than 100 of the arks have been ordered by the UK Ministry of Defence and are being installed at its firing ranges so that soldiers can gain experience of shooting over awkward domed structures. Solway spokesman Jim Muir said the conventional training involves firing while standing, kneeling or lying flat. “It doesn’t allow for firing over domes, which is often very difficult,” Muir said. “We tried several designs and made amendments after live firing trials to meet MoD requirements. The firing domes are going to UK training camps and will be used by British forces soon.” Solway modified the arks as per the army requirements and then tested them on defence training sites before the order was placed. (Source: army-technology.com)
MARITIME
05 Jan 01. HMS WALNEY: Decommissioning. The Defence Equipment Minister said (5 Jan 10) that it is planned for HMS WALNEY to be withdrawn from service in April 2010.
Comment: HMS WALNEY is the only Batch 1 Sandown Class minehunter left in service and was to have been decommissioned in 2017. On 15 Dec 09, the Defence Secretary said that one minehunter was to be taken out of service early (and DNA 09/48 anticipated that the vessel was “possibly HMS