21-Mar-2010 07:48 EDT
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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…
17-Mar-2010 12:01 EDT
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Night raid
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Small business qualifier Oasys Technology secures $10.7 million contract to supply US Navy thermal binoculars. (March 17/10)
It was Christmas Eve 2007 and US Army Rangers were searching for suspected Al-Qaeda members in Mosul, Iraq. They were using their night vision goggles so they would have the element of surprise on their side. The story, detailed in a USA Today article, dramatically demonstrates the advantage night vision capabilities provide to US troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Rangers found 2 Al-Qaeda suspects who were holding an 11-year-old Iraqi boy hostage. Using their night vision capabilities, they were able to shoot the suspects without harming the boy. After that encounter, a firefight erupted between the Army rangers and Al-Qaeda insurgents, with 10 insurgents killed, including the head of an assassination cell, and no Army ranger losses. As former General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the US Army’s 24th Infantry Division in the 1991 Desert Storm conflict, commented: “Our night vision capability provided the single greatest mismatch of the war.” It still does.
This free DID Spotlight Article will examine how this technology works, how its military application has developed over years, how the technology is used by troops in the field, as well as major DoD contracts for procuring night vision devices.
11-Mar-2010 14:01 EST
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Science Applications International Corp. in McLean, VA received a $47.6 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and engineering support to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific for C4ISR systems.
This 5-year contract includes three 12-month option periods for a total potential period of performance of 8 years and a total potential value of $63.6 million.
SAIC will provide support for the following:
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11-Mar-2010 13:01 EST
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BCTM B-Kit in Hummer
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Testimony to Congress goes back and forth re: BCTM Increment 1 technologies. (March 10/10)
Concerns about cost overruns, vehicle design, and contract structure prompted the Pentagon to cancel the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program in June 2009.
Instead of a single FCS contract, the Pentagon directed the Army to set up a number of separate programs to undertake parts of the FCS program. One of those programs is the Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Increment 1. The BCTM Increment 1 capabilities – which include ground robots, UAVs, ground sensors, and vehicle (B-Kit) network integration kits – are planned to be fielded to up to 9 Infantry Brigade Combat Teams beginning in 2011.
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03-Mar-2010 17:33 EST
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The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) awarded 5 multiple-award indefinite-delivery/ indefinite quantity contracts worth up to $3 billion for development of command and control (C2) software for the US Department of Defense.
The winners will compete for task order to provide software design/ development/ modification, software integration (unit-level and system-level), related test and evaluation services, and software systems engineering. The contractors will also provide integrated logistics support, configuration management and program management.
The winners of the 5 DoD C2 software contracts are:
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02-Mar-2010 20:15 EST
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- Will Northrop Grumman’s new compensation focus on profitability rather than growing market share kill KC-X tanker bid?
- Pentagon moves F-35 JSF fighter full-rate production to November 2015, withholds $614 million from Lockheed Martin as promised earlier, restructures contract.
- UK Takeover Panel gives Babcock a 1 month deadline to complete GBP 1.25 billion purchase of UK defense firm VT Group.
02-Mar-2010 16:10 EST
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“Go Ahead, Make My Day”
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The US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) awarded 10 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) support services at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
ECBC is the USA’s principal research and development center for non-medical chemical and biological defense. The center develops technology in the areas of CBRNE detection, protection, and decontamination, and provides support over the entire lifecycle – from basic research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and disposal.
The 10 ID/IQ contracts have a 5-year period of performance and a total value of $485 million for all awardees. Work will be performed at ECBC facilities on Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, at contractor offices, and at other customer sites as required.
The winners of the 10 contracts are:
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01-Mar-2010 20:06 EST
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- Chinese People’s Liberation Army Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu’s new book, “The China Dream”, reportedly argues that China must become the world’s top military power.
- US Sen. Sessions [R-AL] questions criteria for Littoral Combat Ship RFP: AL.com | YouTube video.
28-Feb-2010 14:57 EST
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GPS IIIA concept
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Raytheon contract and team for OCX control segment updated, could reach $1.5 billion. (Feb 26/10)
DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. It’s hard to be more significant than the USA’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which is widely relied upon for civilian uses, including timing services for stock trades and credit card processing. At the same time, military class (M-code) GPS guidance can now be found in everything from cruise missiles and various precision-guided bombs, to battlefield rockets and even artillery shells. Combat search and rescue radios use it, and so does a broadening array of individual soldier’s equipment. Disruption or decay of of the the critical capabilities provided by this line of communication in space would cripple both the US military, and many aspects of the global economy.
GPS-III satellites are a key part of this PTN (Positioning, Timing & Navigation) system’s future plan, offering several improvements over the existing GPS II family. When fully deployed, the current vision for GPS-III is that the new satellites will feature a new L1C civil signal; a cross-linked command and control architecture that allows the entire GPS constellation to be updated from a single ground station; and a spot beam antenna that provides resistance to hostile military jamming while improving accuracy and integrity. GPS III will also have limited interoperability with Europe’s ongoing Galileo GPS-type satellite constellation, per a 2006 agreement involving Lockheed Martin and EADS.
24-Feb-2010 13:44 EST
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Cray to supply 3 DoD supercomputers. (Feb 24/10)
The US Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) was set up in 1992 to modernize DoD’s supercomputing capabilities. The HPCMP was assembled out of a collection of small high performance computing departments run by the services, each with supercomputing capabilities independent of the others.
The HPCMP brings these capabilities together. The program provides supercomputer services, high-speed network communications, and computational science expertise that enables the DoD labs to develop new weapons systems, prepare US aircraft for overseas deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and assist long-term weather predictions to plan humanitarian and military operations throughout the world…
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