Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. in Houston, TX, which is now an independent company, received a $24.6 million firm-fixed price and cost-reimbursement contract for Kosovo support services. Work will be performed in Texas, Germany and Kosovo, and is expected to be completed by July 31/11. The original $68.2 million contract was announced on June 23/05, and was slated to last until June 2010. An Oct 5/07 announcement noted that the ceiling was now $70.3 million, and also extended the period to July 31/11.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Winchester, VA originally solicited 66 bids on Sept 29/03, and 3 bids were received (W912ER-05-D-0003).

LPD-17 San Antonio Class amphibious assault support vessels are a new class of ship which is just entering service with the US Navy. Much like their predecessors, their mission is to embark, transport, land, and support elements of a US Marine Corps Landing Force. What changes are the capabilities and technologies incorporated to perform that mission. This new ship class includes significant internal technology and design upgrades, and is designed to operate accompanying platforms like the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle amphibious armored personnel carrier.

Navy sources note that the 9 scheduled ships of this class (reduced from 12) are slated to assume the functional duties of up to 41 previous ships. Ships to be replaced include the USA’s older LSD-36 USS Anchorage Class dock landing ships (all decommissioned as of 2004, LSD-36 and LSD-38 transferred to Taiwan) and its LPD-4 USS Austin Class ships (12 built and serving, LPD 14 Trenton now India’s INS Jalashva). The San Antonio Class ships may also replace 2 classes of ships currently mothballed and held in reserve status under the Amphibious Lift Enhancement Program (ALEP): the LST-1179 Newport Class tank landing ships, and LKA-113 Charleston Class amphibious cargo ships.

Replacing that many existing ships is already a very tall order. While its design incorporates notable advances, the San Antonio Class has also had its share of teething problems. So, too, has the New Orleans shipyard to which most of this contract has been assigned. Teething issues are not uncommon in new ship classes, but the number of serious issues encountered in this ship class have been higher than usual. The initial ships have been criticized for sub-standard workmanship, and costs are almost twice the originally promised amounts at over $1.5 billion per ship.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the San Antonio Class, detailing the ships’ unique features and capabilities as well as its program innovations and issues. We’ll also include an updated list of related contracts awarded throughout the program’s history. As has become DID custom, the most recent additions are highlighted in green type. Now, over 2 1/2 years after the initial ship of class was delivered and accepted, the San Antonio Class has reached Initial Operational Capability, and Raytheon continues to get electronics contracts to equip new ships of class…

• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Capabilities and Features
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Project & Timelines
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Process & Issues
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Contracts and Events (1996-Present) [updated]
• Appendix A: Additional Readings & Sources – LPD-17 Ship Class
• Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources – News and Views
  
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Trying to make sense of government releases and contracts is challenging at the best of times. Trying to make sense of defense-related contracts takes the challenge to a whole new level. Research quickly revealed that the scattered CH-47F contracts we’ve been seeing were part of a much larger effort to recapitalize America’s CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet. The USA expects to be operating Chinooks in their heavy-lift role past 2030, and the history and structure of that effort is detailed below thanks to some help from Boeing.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the CH-47F/MH-47G helicopter programs, in the USA and abroad. While the forced re-compete of the HH-47’s $10-15 billion CSAR-X program win goes on, Boeing has completed operational testing of the CH-47F, and delivery orders are in for CH-47Fs and MH-47G Special Forces configuration helicopters. The latest news involves an RFP from Canada, and an engine services contract related to SOCOM’s MH-47G…

• The New Chinooks: CH-47F, MH-47G, HH-47 (Continue reading…)
• The US Army’s Acquisition Plan, Plus Global Events & Contracts [updated]
• Appendix A: Reconciling Previous Contracts and Numbers
  
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In a September 2005 article, DID covered total awards under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Patriot anti-air missile system engineering services, along with dates/amounts of each award in FY 2004-2005. We’ve brought that list forward, and we’ll continue to update it as new FY 2008 engineering services contracts roll in. We’ll also use this post as a hub for other Patriot SAM related contracts.

Following are the engineering support contract listings from 2004-present, and other contracts and key events related to the Patriot missile over FY/CY 2007 (DID also has a 2006 article). New material is in green type to make it more visible. The latest additions to our contracts and events coverage? Firm orders from South Korea, a contract for Taiwan’s PAC-3 radar upgrades, and an equipment contract…

• The Patriot Missile Family
• Patriot Engineering Services Contracts
• The USA’s Patriot Programs
• Other Patriot-Related Contracts & Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Pentagon contracts occasionally refer to the Global Broadcast Services (GBS). A variant of was first fielded in Bosnia during 1996, and special nodes were also set up in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It sounds almost like a form of global satellite TV – which is close, but not quite right. GBS is not intended to replace existing MILSATCOM (MILitary SATellite COMmunications) systems in any way. Instead, GBS uses a form of “push and store” to distribute high-bandwidth information for local relay, thereby saving critical two-way military satellite communications systems from having to handle every field request.

The other thing that makes GBS so attractive is the ability to provide high-volume data directly into 18-inch antennas, allowing streaming to and storage in devices that can move with units in the field. The GBS “pushes” a high volume of packaged data to these widely dispersed, low-cost receive terminals like Eyaktek’s Satellite Receive Suite, whose function resembles the set-top smart cable TV storage box or TiVO used in your home.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the GBS system. The latest news is Raytheon’s efforts to maintain the contract as its underpinnings change, and a delivery of GBS-related systems…

• The GBS System: More Details
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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DID’s AMRAAM FOCUS Article has a section that covers key derivatives, including a ground-launched version intended to provide short-medium range mobile anti-aircraft coverage, and cruise missile defense. In the USA, the derivative is known as SLAMRAAM, or CLAWS (by the US Marines, who withdrew in 2006). Internationally, Norway and the Netherlands have bought ground-launched AMRAAMs as part of a Raytheon/ Kongsberg system called NASAMS.

The DoD Inspector General found that the Army needed to “rebaseline” the $623 million contract due to “contractor technical difficulties” and “increased contract costs” – and blames the Army. The Army disagrees. Meanwhile, field testing has begun…

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General Electric Aircraft Engines business group in Lynn, MA received a $321.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088), exercising an option for FY 2008 Lot 12 full rate production of 84 F-414-GE-400 engines and device kits and 10 engine fan modules. They will be installed in F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (50%); Madisonville, KY (22%); Hooksett, NH (13%); Albuquerque, NM (6%); Rutland, VT (5%); Dayton, OH (2%); Evandale, OH (1%); and Bromont, Canada (1%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.

The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms. FY 2008 marks year 4 of the 5-year MYP-II contract.

DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began…

• Hornet MYP: Aircraft Types & Budgets [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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The US Army’s UH-60 Black Hawks have always had a naval counterpart. SH-60B/F Seahawk/ LAMPS helicopters were outfitted with maritime radar, sonobuoys, and other specialized equipment that let them perform a wide variety of roles, from supply and transport, to anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and even surface attack with their Penguin missiles. They can be found aboard US destroyers, cruisers, and frigates. Like their land-based counterparts, however, the Seahawks are getting older. The Reagan defense build-up is receding into history, and its products are wearing out. The US Navy realized that a new set of naval helicopters was required, and technology advances offered the prospect of integrating greater capabilities into each machine without having to spend much on R&D.

European firms designed and built the EH101 medium helicopter, and then the smaller NH90, in order to perform these roles. These helicopters are both larger than the H-60 family, offering airframes made with corrosion-proof composites at a size that confers new capabilities. Both have enjoyed export success. The US Navy, on the other hand, believed that enhancing its proven Seahawk design would be the most cost-effective option for fleet recapitalization. Hence the MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter (aka. “Romeo”) and MH-60S (aka. “Sierra”). MH-60Rs and MH-60Ss will eventually replace all SH-60B/F & HH-60H Seahawks, HH-1N Hueys, UH-3H Sea Kings, and CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters currently in the US Navy’s inventory.

Before this program began, MH- was the traditional designation for special forces aircraft, but the Navy has now adopted it to stand for “multi-mission.” Confusing nomenclature aside, the new MH-60R/S helicopters will be the backbone of the US Navy’s future helicopter force. Both programs are underway, and will be covered in this DID FOCUS Article. The latest additions include a contract to modify the common cockpit, and suspension of the OpEval for part of the MH-60S’ AMCM anti-mine systems…

• Romeo, Armed: The MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter
• Blue Collar Sierra: The MH-60S
• The MH-60R/S Program
• MH-60R/S Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings and Sources
  
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DID has covered the T-45 Training System before, which includes T-45 Goshawk aircraft, advanced flight simulators, computer-assisted instructional programs, a computerized training integration system, and a contractor logistics support package. The integration of all five elements is designed to produce a superior pilot in less time and at lower cost than previous training systems.

The US Navy uses the Hawk-based T-45TS system to train its pilots for the transition from T-6A Texan II/ JPATS aircraft to modern jet fighters – and carrier landings. This is not a risk-free assignment, by any means. Nevertheless, it is a critical link in the naval aviation chain.

DID recaps its coverage of the complete T45TS system, notes the relevant budgetary figures, and covers its contracts from FY 2006 onward. This May 1, it’s appropriate that our coverage focuses on a union-related contract award…

• History & Background
• T45TS Contracts
  
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