LOCATIONS
LAND
12 Jun 13. Bechtel completes work on US MDA’s ground-based midcourse defence programme. Bechtel has concluded design and construction of missile silos and fields required for the US Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) ground-based midcourse defence (GMD) programme. Carried out under contract with Boeing since 1997, work has included engineering and construction of three missile fields comprising 40 silos at Fort Greely in Alaska, as well as four operational silos and one test silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB) in California, US. Additional work performed by the company over the course of contract includes design and construction of missile test sites at Vandenberg AFB and Meck Island in the Marshall Islands, as well as the Ground-Based Interceptor Development and Integration Lab in Alabama, US. The company has also delivered required support services for the execution of several GMD programme’s successful flight tests, including the control test vehicle-01 test carried out at Vandenberg AFB in an effort to validate the overall performance of each part of the missile defence system in January this year. Bechtel government services business unit president Craig Albert said the GMD programme represented the complex project of national importance. The GMD uses radars and sensors, command-and-control facilities, communications terminals and a 2,000-mile fibre-optic communications network to safeguard the US from long-range ballistic missile threats, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in space. Boeing serves as GMD prime contractor and leads an industry team comprising Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences and Raytheon amongst others. (Source: army-technology.com)
10 Jun 13. The Government of Brunei Darussalam, represented by the Ministry of Finance; the Brunei Economic Development Board (‘BEDB’) and CAE held a groundbreaking ceremony to officially celebrate the construction of the new CAE Brunei Multi-Purpose Training Centre (MPTC) in Rimba. The groundbreaking, marked by a ceremonial concrete pouring for the first footing, was attended by Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abd. Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Minister of Finance II at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dato Paduka Hj Ali bin Apong, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board; Dato Paduka Hj Mustappa Bin Hj Sirat, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Defence, Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Finance, Major General Dato Paduka Seri Hj Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Hj Abidin, Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Pehin Orang Kaya Pendikar Alam DCP Dato Paduka Seri Hj Hasrin bin Dato Paduka Hj Sabtu, Commissioner of Police, and Mr. Gene Colabatistto, Group President, Military Products, Training and Services, CAE.
13 Jun 13. Cassidian has completed the integrated security system for the protection of Tanger Med harbour in northern Morocco. The Integrated MARitime SECurity (IMARSEC) system is now in full operation. It encompasses video surveillance and video content analysis, maritime surveillance, an access control system that includes biometry and optical character recognition, a public address system, a communications network and a control room. The integrated security system combats illegal immigration, terrorist attacs and smuggling on the territory of Africa’s biggest port. In addition to all the security measures that make up the system, Cassidian has installed its innovative port security management system, known as SecuriSyte, allowing the operators to manage the integrated subsystems with a single, unified interface.
MARITIME
11 Jun 13. Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Stores Vessels. The Defence Equipment Minister confirmed (11 Jun 13) that the service lives of RFA Fort Rosalie and RFA Fort Austin have been extended to 2024 and 2023 respectively.
Comment: Fort Rosalie was