Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. in Federal Way, WA won a $7.9 million firm-fixed-price contract to charter the Ponce class self-sustaining, roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vesselSS Westward Venture, a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-built, contractor-owned ship. The 6-month charter also includes a 6-month option that would extend the contract to a year, and bring the total contract value to $15.8 million. To see where in the world the SS Westward Venture is at the moment, click this handy web page.

Work will be performed primarily between the U.S. East Coast and the Persian Gulf, in support of the war on terrorism and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and is expected to be complete in May 2008 (November 2008 with option). SS Westward Venture has already been used in this role for some time. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Military Sealift Command’s website, with more than 80 proposals solicited and 3 offers received by The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C.

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The WGS program is actually a set of 13-kilowatt spacecraft based upon Boeing’s model 702 commercial satellite. These satellites will support the USA’s warfighting information exchange requirements, enabling execution of tactical command and control, communications, and computers; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR); battle management; and combat support information. The program name has been changed for some reason to “Wideband Global SATCOM,” presumably to avoid the (correct) suggestion that it fills an emerging gap. Readers should be aware that references to either title in documents, archives, or the media denote the same program.

Upon its first launch into geosynchronous orbit, WGS Flight 1 will become the U.S. Department of Defense’s highest capacity communication satellite. Each satellite can route 2.4 to 3.6 Gbps of data – providing more than 10 times the communications capacity of the predecessor DSCS III satellite. Indeed, One WGS satellite will provide more throughput than the entire Defense Service Communications Satellite (DSCS) constellation currently on station. Using reconfigurable antennas and a digital channelizer, WGS also offers added flexibility to tailor its coverage areas, and to connect X-band and Ka-band users anywhere within the satellite’s field of view. Unlike programs like AEHF or T-SAT, however, WGS offers wideband communications that are “unprotected” against jamming and nuclear effects.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article covering the WGS program. The most recent development is early handover and full operation of the first WGS satellite…

• WGS: Capabilities & Role
• The WGS Program & Schedule
• WGS Program: Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Afghanistan drop-off
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In December 2005, “Canada Purchases $200M in Equipment for Operation ARCHER in Afghanistan” noted 2 things: the wide variety of emergency equipment that Canada was buying prior to its second Afghan deployment, and the critical omission of battlefield support helicopters from that list. Canada’s absence of helicopter support capability would prove costly in the field, and was discussed again during Canada’s delayed RFP for 16 CH-47F helicopters.

This issue was also discussed in Parliament. The January 2008 Manley Report [PDF] recommended that Parliamentary approval for Canada’s continued participation in the Afghan mission should hinge on having Canadian battlefield transport helicopters available by February 2009. Since Stephen Harper’s current Conservative Party government is a Parliamentary minority government, that recommendation became a de facto requirement.

In order to be useful, however, any helicopters bought would need to deliver useful loads despite Afghanistan’s performance-sapping hot weather season and consistent high altitudes. Which led to the problem: where to get the helicopters? The problem was simple. Available helicopters weren’t adequate. Adequate helicopters weren’t available.

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In late 2007, European aerospace and defence giant said that they were looking to make at least 2 acquisitions in the American market, as part of a larger strategic plan they called “Vision 2020.” Buying PlantCML of Temecula, CA from Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity fund, for approximately $350 million appears to be the first step.

EADS has created a strong position for itself in the market for “professional mobile radios,” and are responsible for building several national law enforcement and first responder networks using TETRA technology. PlantCML complements these strengths by offering solutions that take advantage of this base, and handle back-end call/command center activities like call management and radio dispatch, emergency notification services, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) applications, and mapping services. These services can add to EADS offerings in Europe and beyond, while giving the firm a foothold for its full range of solutions in North America. PlantCML has U.S. operations in California, Alabama, Indiana, and Tennessee, and a Canadian operation in Quebec, and EADS’ release reports that PlantCML’s existing margins and profitability are strong.

Accoridng to this Forbes article, EADS’ Vision 2020 aims to have 20% of the firm’s employees and 40% of its sourcing outside Europe by 2020, with defense and homeland security revenues rising in proportion to Airbus revenues, and service revenues rising from 10% to 25%.

F-22 and F-16s
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The fifth-generation F-22A Raptor fighter program has been the subject of fierce controversy, with advocates and detractors aplenty. On the one hand, the aircraft offers full stealth, revolutionary radar and sensor capabilities, dual air-air and air-ground SEAD capabilities, the ability to cruise above Mach 1 without afterburners, thrust-vectoring super-maneuverability… and a ridiculously lopsided kill record in exercises against the best American fighters. On the other hand, critics charge that it’s too expensive, too limited, and cripples the USAF’s overall force structure. Meanwhile, close American allies like Australia, Japan and Israel, and other allies like Korea, are pressing the USA to abandon its “no export” policy. Most already fly F-15s, but they’re interested in an export version of the F-22 in order to help them deal with advanced – and advancing – Russian-designed aircraft, air-to-air missiles, and surface-to-air missile systems.

This DID FOCUS Article covers both sides of the F-22 controversies in the USA and abroad, and it will also be updated over time to cover and backfill contracts and events related to the F-22A Raptor program. As a result of reader feedback, the newest material has been made more visible by putting it in green type. Recent additions include a multi-year contract for the F-22’s navigation & communication sub-systems, and the damaging bombing of F-22 airfields by stealthy attackers…

• The F-22 Raptor: Background & Controversies (aka. Continue reading…)
• F-22 Raptor: Program and Events
  • Events: 2008 [updated]
  • Events: 2007
  • Events: 2006
  • Events: Pre-2006
• F-22 Raptor: Contracts & Production
  • Contracts: FY 2008 [updated]
  • Contracts: FY 2007
  • Contracts: FY 2006
  • Contracts: Pre-FY 2006
• Additional Readings & Sources
  • The F-22 & Key Components
  • The F-22 Program
  • Official Reports
  • Controversies & Events
    
    Continue Reading… »

Dutch F-16, Kandahar
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Raytheon recently announced a competitive contract win in The Netherlands for 200 of their Enhanced Paveway II dual-guidance GPS/laser-guided bomb kits. The contract is a direct commercial sale rather than a Foreign Military Sale, and the kits will fit 500 pound bombs, turning them into precision-guided GBU-49s. Cost was not disclosed.

The GBU-49 has been used extensively in Iraq, and will not be blocked by haze, sandstorms, and other weather conditions. Adding it to the Dutch arsenal will give their F-16s potent options for close air support in Afghanistan. Dual-guidance precision bombs are becoming more popular; France and Britain have recently taken similar steps.

In late September 2007, US Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, IL issued a slew of indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contracts for “International Airlift Services” to various commercial carriers. The total value of these contracts has a higher ceiling of just over $3 billion in 2007, compared to $2.32 billion in 2006 and $2.29 billion in 2005.

The 2007 contract also appeared to bring far more consortia into the fold, as opposed to the 2006 and 2005 awards. The way these awards work is that each contractor submits a bid, and the US military allocates awards according to each bid’s scope and competitiveness.

Recent developments include an additional award to Lynden…

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Sunset at NB Kitsap
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Naval Base Kitsap is one of the homes for the USA’s fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines; the Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific stores both propellant and nuclear warheads. One report claims that this location has the highest concentration of nuclear warheads in the USA with more than 2,300 warheads, about half of which are sailing aboard America’s Pacific fleet of ballistic-missile submarines at any given time.

A set of contracts begun in 2008 aim to make improvements to this facility. They aren’t cheap, but one can argue that they’re worth it…

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Excalibur 155mm
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The GPS-guided M982 Excalibur artillery shell is not an anti-tank round, unlike the SMArt 155 shells Australia bought in October 2007. Excalibur’s accuracy brings its own capabilities, however, including precise counter-fire at enemy artillery and mortars located via projectile-tracking radars. Its shells can also target a particular building near troops under fire, providing a much faster, cheaper, and more reliable alternative to close air support fighters with precision-guided bombs. Both of these capabilities are important on the front-lines, where Australian troops are engaged.

DID readers will recall Australia’s LAND 17 artillery replacement contract, currently underway, aimed at purchasing a new set of towed and mobile 155mm howitzers capable of firing shells like SMArt 155 and the M982 Excalibur. In the mean time, however, a secondary solution is available – and Australia appears to have submitted a modified request…

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IOTV: key features
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When reading about modern body armor one often hears about small arms protective inserts (SAPI) or Enhanced SAPI (ESAPI) ceramic plate inserts. While these inserts are more fragile than past generations of inserts, they offer a significant improvement over its 1990s predecessors in terms of both weight and protection. After episodic issues with production ramp-up and quality control, this gear is widely fielded with the US Army and several allied militaries. The US Marines replaced it with the MTV, and the Army itself has introduced the Improved OTV, and even privately developed body armor like Blackwater Gear use them; all rely on a “vest and plates” approach that uses a similar set of inserts to give the vests most of their bullet-stopping power.

This DID spotlight article covers the USA’s acquisition efforts in this area – including a recent order from the US Army for non-ESAPI plates…

• ESAPI, Explained
• Contracts & Key Events, 2004 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »