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Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems of Woburn, MA received a maximum $400 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to support the design, development, and activation of a European-based mid-course radar for ballistic missile defense. Work will be performed at the contractor’s facility and in Europe, and is expected to be complete by February 2013. This is a sole source award by the US Missile Defense Agency in Huntsville, AL is the contracting activity (HQ0147-08-D-0001).

This effort will be accomplished through task orders, each with distinct scope and pricing. Subject to final negotiations, the X-band radar will be located in the Czech Republic. It is related to the $80 million July 2007 award to Boeing for a missile defense complex.

April 15/08: Initial award and task order. The first task order will use FY 2008 research and development funds of $5.3 million, and will be limited to site surveys, studies, analysis, planning, design, and similar activities specifically permitted in section 226(d) of the FY08 National Defense Authorization Act. Additional activities necessary to this deployment will be conducted by or through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. See also Raytheon release.

JCM

The Joint Common Missile (JCM) was seen as the next-generation, multi-purpose, air-to-ground precision missile that will replace AGM-114 Hellfire family, AGM-65 Maverick family, and airborne *GM-71 TOW missiles with a single weapon usable by the airplanes, helicopters and UAVs of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. It was also being considered for use on some ground vehicles.

In May 2004, Lockheed Martin was picked over Raytheon and a Boeing-Northrop Grumman team to conduct JCM’s 4-year system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, which was to be worth as much as $1.6 billion. The long-term U.S. production estimate of 54,000 missiles would have brought the program to $5 billion, and the United Kingdom had expressed interest in the new weapon and participated in the development process. Tests were underway, and going well.

Then a 2005 program cancellation derailed the effort, but JCM has risen from the procurement grave…

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Task Force One, 1964
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Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding – Newport News in Newport News, VA received a $453.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the FY 2008 Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) of USS Enterprise [CVN 65], the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Work on the 80,640t ship will be performed in Newport News, VA and is expected to be complete by August 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, and this contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, DC (N00024-08-C-2100). See also Earl Industries’ December 2005 contract.

An EDSRA is less extensive than a refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) that refuels the ship’s nuclear reactors. Even so, this procedure still put “The Big E” into drydock for about 16 months to receive restoration and upgrades of all subsystems that affect combat capability and safety, hull inspections and recoating, radiological surveys, and other maintenance related evolutions below the waterline. The EDSRA will also address the propulsion system, and provides sufficient time to perform more extensive propulsion plant repairs and testing than a more conventional Extended Selected Restricted Availability (ESRA), which Enterprise experienced in 2002. See also NGC release.

On April 2/07, BB&T Capital Markets upgraded EDO Corporation to “buy,” in part because they thought EDO was well positioned to win a part of the $200-$500 million Counter- Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) contracts going forward. CREW systems are vehicle mounted electronic jammers designed to prevent the remote detonation of land mines, and EDO makes the Warlock jammer, a derivative of its earlier “Shortstop” product.

Those contracts appear to have come through, with awards for the system EDO now calls the CVRJ (CREW Vehicle Receiver/Jammer). The Pentagon refers to Spiral 2.1 Vehicle Mounted CREW systems, which are one element of the DoD’s Joint Counter RCIED Electronic Warfare program. As the USA buys and fields more mine-resistant MRAP vehicles, IED jammers like the CVRJ and “Lockheed’s” Symphony are a natural accompaniment. A fact that should make EDO’s new owner ITT very happy…

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PLGR & DAGR
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Out in the field, one of the most important questions is also one of the simplest: where am I?

Map-reading and orienteering remain critical soldiering skills, but the explosive growth of the GPS receiver market offers modern-day soldiers – and their opponents – new options. GPS has a military channel as well, of course, offering greater precision. These military-grade GPS receivers are becoming common among American units and their allies, often operating alongside civilian units from firms like Garmin that can include in-country roadmaps for front-line zones. Then again, you probably wouldn’t want to offer nearby airstrike coordinates based on a civilian unit if there was any choice in the matter.

Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) will serve as a smaller, lighter, replacement for the Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR). Their electronics can be integrated into tanks, UAV drones, et. al., or serve as standalone handheld systems for both advanced and basic military GPS users. Authorized Department of Defense (DoD) and foreign military sales (FMS) customers receive a hand-held Precise Positioning System (PPS) with a dual-frequency (L1/L2) receiver that weighs less than a pound, and incorporates the nest generation, tamper-resistant GPS “SAASM” (Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module) anti-jamming and security module.

This will be DID’s FOCUS Article for DAGR procurement, which is international in scope…

• The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver
• DAGR: Contracts & Key Events [updates]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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C-212, hot & high
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Blackwater, USA subsidiary Presidential Airways, Inc. of Moyock, NC uses the EADS-CASA 212 transport aircraft for its work, which is short-haul supply flights in and out of remote locations – including combat zones. Hopefully, they will be able to address some of the issues US combat commanders have raised re: the need for transport aircraft that can use smaller runways, and land closer to zones of operations.

The firm has received a few contracts from the US government for these services, covering a number of Central Asian countries. The latest contract is a bit different, as it involves helicopters…

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Old as the hills…
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In January 2007, the big question was whether there would be a competition for the USA’s KC-X proposal, which will cover 175 production aircraft and 4 test platforms. The cost for this first phase alone is likely to reach $35+ billion spread over about 20 years, but the USAF believes that adding new plane types to America’s 40-50 year old aerial tanker fleet is its #1 priority, lest unpredictable age or fatigue issues like the ones its F-15A-D fleet is experiencing ground its aerial tankers – and with them, a substantial slice of the USA’s total airpower. KC-Y and KC-Z contracts will follow in subsequent decades, in order to replace all 530 KC-135s/ Boeing 707s (195 active; ANG 251; Reserve 84) that were delivered until 1965, as well as the USAF’s 59 larger KC-10 tankers delivered from 1979-1987.

“US Debating Aerial Tanker Types, Mix” offers in-depth coverage of the lead-up to the KC-X RFP, explaining many of the military & policy issues in play as the USA contemplates its own choices. Then came the contractor decisions, and responses. What would Boeing propose? The KC-767, the KC-777, or both? Would Northrop and EADS elect to play, bringing their Airbus KC-30/A330 MRTT?

In the end, it was Team Boeing’s KC-767 Advanced (767-200 derivative) vs. the Team Northrop Grumman KC-30B (Airbus A330-200/200F derivative). Each aircraft system has its strengths, and each system also had risk factors as lobbying continued right down to the wire. Boeing claimed lower KC-767 operating costs, and received a union endorsement. EADS promised to open production of A330F civilian jets in the USA if it won. Most observers correctly pointed out that all this lobbying was important, as the financial stakes involved meant there was going to be a huge political fight no matter which side won.

That has proven to be the case. Intense guerilla marketing and legislative lobbying were only the opening shots, especially now that there’s a concrete winner to fight over. The Airbus A330 MRTT will become the KC-45 in US service, if the military can make its decision stick. DID offers the competition’s entire history to date, as the GAO agrees to hear Boeing’s protest, Boeing makes capability and survivability claims, and Northrop Grumman fires up its own PR machine…

• The Contenders and The Cargo Factor (i.e. continue reading…) [updated]
• KC-X: Teams & Locations
• KC-X RFP: Key Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Maxxpro, USNS Pililaau
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On Dec 19/07, the US Defense Department announced that they expected to reach their goal of 1,500 blast-resistant MRAP vehicles delivered into theater, reaching 1,525 by year’s end. Most initial deliveries were handled by C-17, C-5, and even leased Russian AN-124 aircraft, but the far greater capacity of sealift began to tip the balance as manufacturing capacity and deliveries ramped up.

The ancillary equipment installers at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command center at Charleston, SC had been a bottleneck in the process for a while, but improvements in their workflow have eased that situation.

Exactly how much progress has been made on all fronts can be measured by the fact that as of April 9/08, over 5,200 MRAP vehicles have been delivered to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. Deliveries by sea began outsripping deliveries by air in March 2008. By the end of June 2008 all future MRAP vehicles being shipped by sea. Sealift’s huge increase in capacity comes at the expense of speed, but the number of vehicles already available in theater has reduced the urgency of adding the 3-8 vehicles that an expensive airlifter trip can carry. This will free up the USA’s overworked air transport fleet for other uses.

ADM-160B/C MALD

The Bosnian “Nighthawk Down” incident in 1999 showed that even old air defense systems could still be dangerous, and that smart tactics and selective use could keep those systems alive against heavy opposition. The challenge is finding them and targeting them. Against truly advanced air defense systems like the Russian S-20 family, however, the challenge is survival. Advanced stealth technologies, advanced anti-radar weapons, and successful electronic jamming are required.

Air-launched decoys help, too. They’re not a new concept by any means, and the same technologies used in cruise missiles allow construction of “stealth in reverse” decoys that can fly long distances along pre-planned flight patterns, carrying radar reflectors that can simulate the radar return of fighter or bomber aircraft. Enemy air defenses see them as incoming aircraft, and must decide to either shut down and hide, or activate and reveal their position. If American aircraft are flying behind a wave a decoys, either option can be dangerous.

The US Navy has the ITALD, and the USAF’s ADM-160B/C Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) program began as a DARPA effort in 1996…

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Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. of Herndon, VA received a modified contract for $28 million, in exchange for “survivability and vulnerability technical research and development analysis for U.S. Coast Guard ship, aviation, and Command and Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems.” At this time $7.7 million has been committed. Offutt AFB, NB issued the contract (SP0700-03-D-1380, Delivery Order: 0250).

C4ISR security has been an issue in the Coast Guard’s Deepwater recapitalization program, with claims that the systems used in the Island Class patrol cutter upgrades were inherently insecure, and that similar issues are present in the Legend Class National Security Cutters.