• EADS CEO says the company is looking to buy a medium-sized defense company in the US; last US acquisition was PlantCML.

• The use of metrology assisted machining, manufacturing, and assembly is growing in the aerospace sector.

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

• Der Spiegel Online attempts to cover the growing use of UAVs, includes interview with Brookings’ Peter Singer (vid. “In the Loop? Armed Robots and the Future of War”)

• US Navy i-ENCON program saves 354,000 barrels of fuel during Q1 2010; 4.9% better than Q4 2009.

• WIRED Danger Room looks at ongoing issues with removable storage in US military, and the flip-side of its cyber-security efforts for operations.

• 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.

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

$287 million to AmerisourceBergen for 2nd option period on US military pharma contracts. (March 19/10)

Troops require medication of all kinds as a way of managing chronic conditions, handling the wear and ills that are a constant risk on military deployments, et al.

Unsurprisingly, militaries tend to buy in bulk, often through middle-men offering wholesale margins on a wide variety of treatments.

In 2007, US DoD issued $3 billion in contracts for bulk pharmaceutical purchases, many of which are option periods from an original award. AmerisourceBergen seems to be the big winner.

Unless otherwise noted, the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA issued the contracts.

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F-35A: incoming…
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GAO reports; Denmark picks Super Hornet?; New program head nominated; Landing gear contract; P5 waveform contracts; new flight decks wanted; videos!. (March 19/10)

The $300+ billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing for the US Marines, British Royal Navy, et. al.; and the F-35C conventional carrier-launched version for the US Navy. The aircraft is named after Lockheed’s famous WW2 P-38 Lightning, and the Mach 2, stacked-engine English Electric (now BAE) Lightning jet. Lightning II system development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3), with Singapore and Israel as “Security Cooperation Partners.” Now the challenge is agreeing on production phase membership and arrangements, to be followed by initial purchase commitments in 2009-2010.

This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the F-35 program, including contracts, sub-contracts, and notable events and reports.

• The F-35 Family of Aircraft
• F-35 Program: Production Timelines & Structure
• F-35 Program: Controversies and Competitions
• F-35 Program: Events & Developments, CY 2009-2010 [updated]
• F-35 Program: System Development & Production Contracts, FY 2009-2010 [updated]
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts, FY 2009 – 2010 [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources\
• Video Viewing [NEW]
  
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Getting knowledge now
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As the saying goes, knowledge is power. And for one US airman it proved to be the key to carry out a challenging task in a difficult environment – to set up an armory in Baghdad in the months following the March 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

He had no idea how to begin. So he logged onto the US Air Force Knowledge Now site, an online community for USAF personnel to share information on a wide variety of topics. He sent out an SOS to the community on security forces for help.

Low and behold, he received a reply from a senior master sergeant in the US who had lots of experience setting up armories in the field. The sergeant gave him detailed instructions on how to do it, along with instruction manuals. The airman was able to get the armory up and running quickly.

The Air Force Knowledge Now site was launched in 1999 by the USAF and software developer Triune Group of Dayton, Ohio. Triune recently received a $48.5 million contract to continue to operate and maintain the site…

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The US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) multiple award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group in Pasadena, CA (N62470-10-D-2019) and HDR Engineering in Colorado Springs, CO (N62470-10-D-2020) for planning and engineering services at US Navy and US Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities worldwide.

The maximum dollar value, including the base period and 4 option years, of the 2 contracts combined is $60 million.

The two companies will provide project planning documents, cost estimates, planning studies, visioning and scenario workshops/planning, geo-spatial information and services, and other planning and engineering services for construction projects…

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Key testimony to US Congress looks at overall balance across the Straits, legislators push for F-16s. (Feb 25/10)

Despite China’s military buildup across the strait, key weapons sales of P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot PAC-3 missiles, and diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan have been sabotaged by Taiwanese politics for years – in some cases, since 1997. The KMT party’s flip-flops and determined stalling tactics eventually created a crisis in US-Taiwan relations, which finally soured to the point that the USA refused a Taiwanese request for F-16C/D aircraft.

That seems to have brought things to a head. Most of the budget and political issues were eventually sorted out, and after a long delay, some major elements of Taiwan’s requested modernization program appear to be moving forward: P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot missile upgrades; and requests for AH-64D attack helicopters, UH-60M Black Hawks helicopters, E-2 AWACS planes, minehunting ships, and missiles for defense against aircraft, ships, and tanks. These are must-have capabilities when facing a Chinese government that has vowed to take the country by force, and which is building an extensive submarine fleet, a large array of ballistic missiles, an upgraded fighter fleet, and a number of amphibious-capable divisions. Chinese pressure continues to stall some of Taiwan’s important upgrades, including diesel-electric submarines and American fighter jets. Meanwhile, other purchases continue…

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Class 1 MAV
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HASC testimony points out problems with the RQ-16. (March 10/10)

The USA’s Future Combat Systems Class I UAV is intended for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in nearly all terrain, including urban environments. Each system of 2 vertical take-off and landing air vehicles, a dismounted control device, and associated ground support equipment. It will be carried by selected platforms and dismounted soldiers, and will use autonomous flight, navigation, and recovery.

The larger Class II and Class III UAV development programs were canceled in favor of existing options: the RQ-7 Shadow, and MQ-1C SkyWarrior. Despite excellent field reports for mini-UAVs like the RQ-11 Raven, however, Honeywell’s hovering RQ-16 “T-Hawk” found a niche, made the list for the US Army’s early increment 1 Brigade Combat Team Modernization fielding, and has even seen limited exports…

• The Class I MAV
• The MAV Program
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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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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Looking a little dated
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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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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
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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
  
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