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Crazy ‘bout a Mercury…
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The USA’s E-6 Mercury (aka. TACAMO, as in TAke Charge And Move Out) “survivable airborne communication system” airplanes support their Navy’s SSBN ballistic missile submarine force and overall strategic forces. With the advent of the new “Tactical Trident” converted Ohio Class special operations subs, their unique capabilities become even more useful. They also have a secondary role as Airborne National Command Posts.

Delivery of the first production E-6 aircraft took place in August 1989, with delivery of the 16th and final airplane coming in May 1992. Now the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD has issued a pair of contracts that aim to improve both the E-6 fleet’s maintenance situation, and their training options.

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SICPS Deployed
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Northrop Grumman Corporation recently rolled out the U.S. Army’s first two high-tech command post systems built under the Standardized Integrated Command Post System (SICPS) program. These common design, mobile, digitized command centers include advanced technologies including Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade-and-Below software (aka “Blue Force Tracker” displays) and other Army automated battlefield-command systems. SICPS are generally mounted on an expanded capacity Humvee jeep, though the standardized enclosure could be merged with other vehicles and may even be moved from one vehicle to another.

These efforts are part of a larger program.

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“Odd, the test log
showed no issues…”
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In April 2005, L-3 Communicatons subsidiary Interstate Electronics Corp. in Anaheim, CA was placed under criminal investigation for providing faulty parts to the CSEL search and rescue GPS/ beacon/ communicators used by US aviators, special forces teams, et. al. – and concealing test failures.

So, naturally, they’ve just been awarded a contract to support the test instrumentation hardware for most of America’s nuclear missile fleet, and all of Britain’s.

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Bell 412EP
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DID has covered the U.S. Army’s $2 billion Light Utility Helicopter competition before, which aims to replace many of the US Army’s older UH-1 Hueys and OH-58 Kiowas. from the original 2 competitors (Bell’s UH-1 descendents the 210 or 412EP, vs. MD Helicopters’ Explorer 900 NOTAR) to EADS Eurocopter’s entry (EC145) and its implications.

DID will brief our readers shortly re: a couple of important moves on the partnership front as these teams jockey for advantage. Meanwhile, a fourth team has joined the competition.

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EADS’ CN-235 & C-295

Raytheon and its European partner EADS are hoping that the Army’s Future Cargo Aircraft program will be decided with an emphasis for cargo space – something their CN-235s and C-295s have in great abundance. Competitor L-3 Communications, along with its own European partner Alenia, is pushing its C-27J, a more powerful plane but one that is attached to a shorter cargo bay.

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T-45 Goshawks
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In 1981, the T45TS beat out the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet in a bid to replace two US Navy training aircraft (the TA-4J Skyhawk and T-2C Buckeye). The system trains U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots for conversion into the F/A-18A-D Hornet, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the AV-8B Harrier II Plus, and the EA-6B Prowler.

DID covers offers some background regarding the US Navy’s T45TS and its performance, along with information regarding a pair of support contracts for this system worth $153.3 million that were recently issued by the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD…

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Prophet

L3 Communications Titan Corp. in San Diego, CA received a $22.1 million modification to a fixed-price-incentive-fee contract to add Block III Spiral I Electronic Support AN/MLQ-40(V)4 Capability to AN/MLQ-40(V)3 Prophet Block I Vehicles. This DID article describes the Prophet land-based signals intercept/ electronic warfare program in detail. L3 Communications Titan Corp. is the prime contractor for the program.

Work on this contract will be performed in San Diego, CA (98%) and Melbourne, FL (2%), and is expected to be complete by May 7, 2006. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 1, 2005 by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, NJ is the contracting activity (DAAB07-01-C-L539). See all DID coverage of the Prophet system.

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HUG a Hornet today!
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The Northrop Grumman/ Rafael LITENING surveillance and targeting pod has been chosen as the preferred surveillance and weapons targeting system for Australia’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft, in a contract worth more than $100 million. While the make was not disclosed in releases, DID has been able to get confirmation that the order is for the advanced model LITENING AT pods, that the effort is part of the Defence Procurement Office, Tactical Fighter Systems Program Office’s Hornet Upgrade (HUG) program, and that the project value quoted is the unclassified value and extends beyond the acquisition of the pods. Our Australian source added that “Pod numbers and detailed cost breakdowns are sensitive and will not be disclosed.”

Australia’s has been running the Tactical Fighter Systems Program Office’s Hornet Upgrade project for its 71 RAAF F/A-18 A/B Hornets, and assessed three systems. DID has covered them all – and we also have some thoughts regarding those detailed cost and numbers breakdowns.

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TH-57 Sea Ranger

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC in Madison, MS received a $36.2 million firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery requirements contract to provide additional logistics support for approximately 121 TH-57B/TH-57C Sea Ranger helicopters based at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, FL, and two TH-57C aircraft based at the NAS Patuxent River, MD.

The TH-57 is more commonly known as…

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L-3 Communications Henshcel in Newburyport, MA received an estimated maximum $6 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for Submarine Valve Regulated, Lead Acid Automatic Battery Monitoring Systems (ABMS).

The US Navy is considering switching from flooded lead-acid battery designs to valve-regulated varieties for its Submarine Main Storage Battery requirements…

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