• EADS says it might submit bid for KC-X aerial tanker RFP without Northrop Grumman; Pentagon mulls deadline extension. Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | MarketWatch

• EADS CEO says the company is looking to buy a medium-sized defense company in the US.

• Strategy Analytics: Annual market for SATCOM-related electronics to grow from $796 million in 2009 to nearly $2.58 billion in 2020.

• CACI secures $219 million contract to provide C4ISR and IT to SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.

• F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter passes first vertical landing test.

• Boeing completes design of US Navy free electron laser weapon system to take out high-speed cruise missiles.

• Honeywell gets US Army order to maintain Cold War era Washington-Moscow hotline.

• USA DOE drawing up a strategic plan to deal with China’s dominance of key “rare-earth” mineral supplies.

• People as policy: Northrop Grumman appoints new head for X-47B N-UCAS stealth UAV program – but that’s just one piece of a bigger picture.

• Littoral Combat Ship Freedom (LCS 1) performs drug busts, but sharp debate escalates over the class’ lack of armament and suitability for its missions.

• Rocky Mountain Instrument (RMI) in Lafayette, CO fined $1 million for exporting defense-related optics to China, Russia and other nations without a license. US Justice Department release | RMI release | Denver Business Journal | Associated Press

• Low tech IEDs in Afghanistan vs. high-tech US counter IED devices: number of attacks double.

• Raytheon sets up new missile defense product line, gets $11.9 million order to support Patriot missile field surveillance program.

• UK MoD, Defence Industries Council offer tech exhibition at Yeomanry House.

• Can you hear me now? B-2 bomber gets EHF SATCOM hardware; system has been 3 years in development.

Somewhere, over
the rainbow…
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Nuclear reactors save a lot of diesel fuel, but until the new CVN-21 carriers arrive, there’s a catch. Mid-way through the ships’ 50-year life, the nuclear reactor needs to be refueled – a long, complex, and expensive process. Anyone who has ever done home renovations knows that the opportunity to make upgrades can be nearly irresistible in these situations, and in truth, this stage in the carrier’s life is a very good time for that kind of work.

The USS Abraham Lincoln [CVN 72] was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on Nov 11/89 and homeported in Everett, WA, CVN 72 is expected to remain in service until 2039. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, its mid-life upgrade and reactor refueling approaches. Its counterparts USS Carl Vinson [CVN 70] has jus completed its RCOH, and USS Theodore Roosevelt’s [CVN 71] is underway. CVN 72 is just getting ready to deploy, but in a few years she will become the 6th American carrier to undergo this procedure…

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The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple-award contracts to 9 companies for commercial and military institutional building construction in the Southwest United States.

The maximum dollar value, including the base period and 4 option years, for all contracts is $900 million.

The 9 NAVFAC contract winners are:

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C-17 over Hawaii
(click to view full)

Q3 payment raises FY 2010 total over $800 million. (March 18/10)

While the C-17 may have limited production time in its future, the C-17 Globemaster Sustainment Partnership is likely to continue for many years. The rising cost of maintenance has made it a greater concern to the world’s militaries, and new contract vehicles are reflecting that. Under the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, Boeing has total system support responsibility for the big transport aircraft, including materiel management and depot maintenance, for fleets around the world. The goal is total aircraft sustainment support under a single contract, in order to achieve improvements in mission readiness, while reducing operating and support costs. The initial contract had an estimated total value of $4.9 billion, which is likely to grow as Boeing’s customer base grows in Australia (4), Britain (6), Canada (4), Qatar (2), and NATO (3).

This is DID’s in-depth, updated FOCUS Article covering this major international program, offering key statistics for the aircraft, explaining the GSP’s components, and detailing its contracts.

• The C-17 Globemaster III
• The C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership
• The C-17 PE/PI Program
• Contracts and Key Events, FY 2004-Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Looking a little dated
(click to view full)

The Navy recently awarded an $83 million contract for e-CASS development, production and testing. The AN/USM-636(V) Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) is the US Navy’s standard automatic test equipment family. It provides intermediate, depot and factory level support, both ashore and afloat, for testing all Navy electronics, from aircraft to ships and submarines.

CASS has been around since 1990, and it’s time for an upgrade. The Navy is planning to replace the existing 5 CASS mainframe systems with the next-generation electronic CASS (e-CASS) system. US Naval aviation currently uses 713 CASS stations for testing of aircraft electronics. CASS is also used at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and in 9 foreign countries…

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CEC Concept
(click to enlarge)

Minor DAE contract a sign that Britain’s new ships will have CEC? (March 18/10)

Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is far more than a mere data-sharing program, or even a sensor fusion effort. Indeed, it may well be the most revolutionary capability available to the modern US Navy. This DID FOCUS Article explains those mechanics and implications. It will also track ongoing research, updates, and contracts related to CEC capabilities from 2000 forward.

The concept behind CEC is a sensor netting system that allows many ships to pool their radar and sensor information together, creating a very powerful and detailed picture that’s much finer, more wide-ranging, and more consistent than any one ship could generate on its own. The data is then shared among all ships and participating systems in the air and on the ground, using secure frequencies. It’s a simple premise, but a difficult technical feat. With huge implications.

• Co-operative Engagement Capability: How It Works (i.e. Continue reading…)
• CEC: Contracts and Key Events, 2000 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

USA’s Nimitz Class &
UK’s Invincible Class
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Contract to improve fiber optics manufacturing will have applications beyond CVN 78. (March 12/10)

Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t (British) – 74,000t (French), while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at around 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class, in contrast, fall in the 90,000t-105,000t range. Hence the unofficial designation “super-carriers”. Just one of these ships packs a more potent air force than many nations.

Nimitz Class cutaway
(click to view full)

As the successor to the 102,000 ton Nimitz Class super-carriers, the CVN-21 program aims to increase aircraft sortie generation rates by 20%, increase survivability to better handle future threats, require fewer sailors, and have depot maintenance requirements that could support an increase of up to 25% in operational availability. The combination of a new design nuclear propulsion plant and an improved electric plant are expected to provide 2-3 times the electrical generation capacity of previous carriers, which in turn enables systems like an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS, replacing steam-driven catapults), Advanced Arresting Gear, and integrated combat electronics that will leverage advances in open systems architecture. Other CVN-21 features include an enhanced flight deck, improved weapons handling and aircraft servicing efficiency, and a flexible island arrangement allowing for future technology insertion. This graphic points out many of the key improvements.

DID’s CVN-21 FOCUS Article offers a detailed look at a number of the program’s key innovations, as well as a list of relevant contract awards and events.

• CVN-21: Improvements and Innovations
• Transitional Carrier: CV 77, USS George H.W. Bush
• CVN-21 Class: Contract Awards & Key Events
• CVN-21: Other Related Contracts and Events [updated]
• CVN-21 Class: Additional Readings and Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

A-RCI is a sonar system upgrade installed on the USA’s entire submarine fleet, including SSN-688 Los Angeles & SSN-688I Improved Los Angeles Class, SSN-21 Seawolf Class, SSN-744 Virginia Class, SSBN-726 Ohio Class nuclear missile boats, and the new SSGN Tactical Trident special ops and strike subs.

DID’s Spotlight on A-RCI adds a bit more explanation of exactly what the program entails and where its benefits were focused, as well as covers contracts placed under the A-RCI program from FY 2005 onward. The program’s concept is simple: you can upgrade the system, without changing the sensors. By sharply upgrading ship sensor processing, it integrates and improves the boat’s towed array, hull array and sphere array sonars, running more advanced algorithms and providing a fuller “picture” of the surrounding environment. Sometimes, it really is all about what you can do with it. A-RCI’s open architecture concept also make it easier to integrate additional sensors, providing a dual-track improvement option for American submarines.

• A-RCI: Specifics & Benefits
• A-RCI: FY 2005-2010 Contracts [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

• Defense executive panel offers advice to contractors on future industry challenges.

• Nordic Alliance proposal continues to make political progress.

• ASDReports.com: Global market for armored vehicles will reach $10.3 billion, fueled by continued IED threat.

• US Army: “Review drops two-war force size paradigm,” changing the assumptions used to set required military forces.

• “American Civil Liberties Union” sues the government, asking for in-depth information about the use of UAV strikes in foreign wars.

• CSC snags 5-year, $27 million contract to provide IT to US DoD’s Dependents Schools-Europe, which runs 81 schools for the children of US military.

• Cubic in San Diego, CA will supply small arms training systems to Saudi Arabia under a $30 million contract.

• Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird Warrior helicopter UAV completes resupply trials with US Marines. Main competition is Kaman’s K-MAX.

• USAF continues its shift from cost-plus contracts toward fixed-cost, for the F-35 program. Meanwhile, the first production model F-35B hovers in a test.

• Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Release 1.1 (Single Supply Solution) goes live at Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). Sounds simple. Isn’t, in practice.

• General Dynamics gets $30.6 million contract to supply 118 Type-3 advanced mission computers for the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

• Czech firm Aero Vodochody says it will supply 40 cockpits for the US Blawk Hawk troop transport and utility helicopter.