DID will be held over for a day while we upgrade our infrastructure. We expect to return tomorrow.

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TCOM 17M RAID Aerostat
(click to view full)

On June 14, 2005 we briefed our readers about the JLENS, a set of radars and sensors mounted on an aerostat blimp and capable of networking via Cooperative Engagement Capability to enhance both air and missile defense. The day before, we noted an Air Force Study that gave the thumbs-up to greater use of blimps in the U.S. military.

Raytheon Co. in Bedford, MA just received a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment System (RAID), a smaller version of the JLENS aerostat that has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. When equipped with infared sensors as well, the JLENS adds anti-terrorist surveillance capabilities to its portfolio. The U.S. DoD’s June 14/05 release cited a figure of $36.3 million, while Raytheon’s June 21/05 release cites a $48.4 million contract to provide 41 RAID systems plus systems engineering and life cycle support.

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M1A2 Abrams

General Dynamics Land Systems Inc. in Sterling Heights, MI received a $141.1 million firm-fixed-price contract to upgrade 60 M1A2 Abrams Tanks to the M1A2 System and Continuous Enhancement Program Configurations (M1A2 SEP) over the next two and a half years.

The fully digitized M1A2 SEP is the latest, most technologically advanced Abrams tank. It has the latest command-and-control system, second-generation thermal sights, and improved armor. This retrofit is part of an overall M1A2 upgrade program that integrates new information technologies to improve warfighting capability with enhanced command-and-control features like color maps and displays, high-density computer memory, increased microprocessing speed, and networked communications.

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