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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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.

• Night Vision Technology
• Generations
• Riding the Omnibus
• Thermal Weapon Sight II
• Multi-Functioning Aiming Laser System
• Helicopter Systems
• Panoramic Night Vision
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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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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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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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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• Will Northrop Grumman’s new compensation focus on profitability rather than growing market share kill KC-X tanker bid?

• US Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn asks for an extension to finalize a 3rd multiyear Super Hornet/ EA-18G deal.

• USAF, Northrop Grumman to redesign B-2 stealth bomber’s aft deck to lessen cracking .

• G2 Solutions: US Army tactical UAS competitions could total $2.6 billion between 2013 and 2025.

• Bill Sweetman on F-35 program: “Remember this distinction: The Donner Party was on track. They were not on schedule.”

• Pentagon moves F-35 JSF fighter full-rate production to November 2015, withholds $614 million from Lockheed Martin as promised earlier, restructures contract.

• Lockheed Martin-led team fabricates the world’s largest (16.4 foot diameter) heat shield structure, under budget and early.

• USA’s Ground Combat Vehicle next-generation armor: BAE (platform) teams with Northrop Grumman (C4ISR).

• Australia’s naval helicopter competition is officially on: MH-60R vs. NH90-NFH.

• UK Takeover Panel gives Babcock a 1 month deadline to complete GBP 1.25 billion purchase of UK defense firm VT Group.

• British medics get blood warming equipment to treat wounded in Afghanistan.

• BAE Systems will provide mission computer systems for the Indian Navy’s P-8I maritime patrol aircraft.

“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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• 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.

• Canada commits CDN $170 million over next 10 years to upgrade Defence Research and Development Canada’s (DRDC) Valcartier facility.

• US Navy’s unfunded priorities list: maintenance, parts.

• US Army makes moves to speed technology transfer to the front lines. Latest gadget: video game to teach cultural sensitivity.

• US Army is done evaluating new “Blue Force Tracker” software (FCBCB2 Joint Capabilities Release), will make a fielding decision in late summer 2010.

• US Sen. Sessions [R-AL] questions criteria for Littoral Combat Ship RFP: AL.com | YouTube video.

• BAE Systems kicks off production of UK Terrier Armored Engineering Vehicles.

• Pentagon lifts ban on accessing social networking sites for unclassified networks.

• Boeing gets A$44 million contract to increase support for Australian Army rotary wing training.

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.

• The Existing Array
• The GPS III Program [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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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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