Truckin’
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As part of Taiwan’s much-reported military modernization program, it’s ordering 12 P-3C Orion sea control aircraft to monitor its sea lanes, hunt enemy submarines, and make life dangerous for any ships in an invasion force. While Lockheed Martin was forced to re-open a wing line in Georgia, the main production line isn’t active any more. As a result, all 12 of the mothballed P-3s slated for Taiwan have to come from stored US Navy aircraft at AMARG’s “boneyard” near Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ. The problem is that all 12 airframes were labeled “non-flyable” due to structural fatigue, which made the 2,000 mile trip to the refurbishment facility in Greenville, SC, a bit of a challenge.

After considering and rejecting rail transport due to offloading and re-loading risks, the AMARG team decided to use a flatbed truck. That’s an unusual method, but it worked. Their approach has stirred interest from other P-3 operators, and even US federal government agencies…

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Those Were the Days
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ODIN gets contract to maintain and monitor network of passive RFID readers at 7 US Air Force Bases and 1 US Naval Air Station. (Jan 27/10)

The US military has a vast store of supplies and equipment around the world. Keeping track of all that stuff has always been a challenge. In World War II, the US Army kept track using IBM punch cards and electric accounting machines (EAMs).

Well today, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have replaced punch cards and RFID readers and computers have replaced the EAMs. The RFID tags work like “wireless bar codes” that record, track, and manage the supplies and equipment of a modern networked military.

Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have focused attention on the performance of the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) supply chain management in support of deployed US troops. The availability of spare parts and other critical supply items affects the readiness and operational capabilities of the forces, and the supply chain can be a critical link in determining outcomes on the battlefield.

So, not only does RFID technology help keep track of supplies and equipment, it also helps get critical supplies to the battlefield at the right time and place and to secure supplies en route…

• Key Technologies
• Applications
• Benefits
• Problems
• RF-ITV System
• Other Uses
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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New dawn?
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Implementation of Britain’s “future contracting for availability” approach of paying for machines in service, rather than parts and hours, generally involves a phased set of contracts and agreements. As each party’s understanding the risks and demands grow, the contract’s complexity and comprehensiveness grow as well, and the framework moves closer and closer to the desired goal of a full availability contract. “Britain Hammers Out Through-Life Support Framework for Tornado Fleet” described how this approach works on the ground, and talked about some of the keys to success. “UK’s “Contracting for Availability” Adds Hawks, Looks Ahead” mentioned the MoD’s March 2007 Long Term Partnering Agreement Foundation Contract with BAE Systems, which aims to place all British military aircraft under this kind of framework.

In late 2007, the UK’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet entered Quick Reaction Alert service with the RAF, and began flying with new ground-attack capabilities [MoD | BAE]. In step with its growing operational responsibilities, the the Typhoon fleet began moving toward an availability contracting maintenance model. A 5-year contract signed in March 2009 accelerated that shift, and the Typhoon Availability Service has begun operations.

Recent events include the addition of a billion-dollar availability-based contract to maintain the fleet’s engines…

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[by John MacNeill]
Goo goo g’joob!

The Walrus heavy-transport blimp (“heavy” as in “1-2 million pounds”) was among a range of projects on the drawing board in the mid ‘00s. It offered the potential for a faster and more versatile sealift substitute. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded phase 1 contracts, but things seemed to end in 2006. Yet the imperatives driving the need for Walrus, or even for a much smaller version of it, remain. Is the Walrus dead? And could it, or a Hybrid Ultra Large Aircraft (HULA) like it, rise again?

Recent presentations and initiatives in several US armed services indicate that it might…

• WALRUS: Concept & Key Technologies
• WALRUS: The Program
• Walrus & HULAs: Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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MEPDIS-R Diagram
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Lex Products Corp. in Stamford, CT received an $8 million task order under a blanket purchase agreement (M67854-07-A-5016) to provide the mobile electric power distribution system – replacement [pdf] (MEPDIS-R) to the US Marine Corps.

The system distributes electrical power from all standard tactical generators to military shelters and systems requiring power.

MEPDIS-R is a modular power distribution system consisting of portable power distribution boxes and interconnecting power cables. The system includes a series of cable adapters permitting the use of older power generation systems…

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Alexander the Great
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Since the days of Alexander the Great, supplying troops deployed far from home has been a concern of militaries. At the height of his empire, Alexander’s legions extended from Greece to the Indian subcontinent. Keeping his troops feed and armed was one of Alexander’s major concerns.

In the information age, militaries are increasing turning to the network to ensure troops are supplied over vast distances. The US military’s latest effort in this area is called the Global Combat Support System (GCSS), which uses information technology to increase the efficiency of logistics and provide a global picture of combat assets and supplies.

Each service has its own version of GCSS. The one operated by the Air Force was developed by Lockheed Martin. On Dec 10/09, the company received a $78.5 million bridge contract to continue its work on the system…

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Keep on Moving
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Everybody hates to move. And no one moves more than the US military. With approximately 500,000 household goods shipments every year, the military is the largest moving population in the United States.

To help ease the process, the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) has contracted with SRA International to automate the process using information technology under the Defense Personal Property System (DPS).

The web-based DPS enables US military personnel, family members, government managers and moving companies to plan, schedule, contract for, move and receive shipments of household belongings from assignment to assignment.

SRA began work on DPS in 2004…

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The US Air Force has exercised a second option year on a $90 million 5-year contract (FA8224-07-D-0001) for Mainstream GS in Bethesda, MD, to provide continuous process improvement (CPI) services. CPI is intended to improve the efficiency of how the USAF works as an organization.

A main portion of Mainstream’s work involves support for the Air Force Smart Operations 21 (AFSO21) program, which is based on both Lean and Six Sigma business process improvement tools.

In an interview, Mainstream President Alan Horowitz told DID that his company is supplying the USAF a number of CPI services, include Lean and Six Sigma consulting, training, facilitation, and planning…

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TransHospital, Afghanistan
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Shipping containers are ubiquitous in a globalized world, and many modes of transport on air, sea, and land are adapted to carry them easily. To portability, add protection: their rigid metal construction provides more shielding than tent fabric, and this can be augmented by digging the structure in slightly or putting up Hesco-type instafill walls nearby. A number of manufacturers have thrown in a 3rd advantage: modular flexibility, created by making it easy to connect containerized modules and deploy the exact combination you need.

Military and para-public medical facilities are natural fits with these advantages, and EADS’ innovative TransHospital leverages all of them. Now, the Thai government will become a customer, giving them a transportable field hospital for military or disaster-related use…

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Water tower etc.,
Times Beach
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Most people never see services like wastewater management and water distribution, maintenance of the electric grid, et. al. The cost is built into their taxes and utility bills, or into initial subdivision fees. Military bases have to deal with these sorts of issues, just as homeowners and developer do – but on a much larger scale. The preference in the US military seems to be shifting toward very long term (about 50 year) term fixed-price or regulated tariff contracts, which are often coupled with partial privatization or conveyance of assets to make the contractor 100% responsible for the utility.

This Spotlight article covers recent contracts that fall under this format, totaling over $5 billion. In the latest offering, Entergy Arkansas won a contract worth a maximum of $25.3 million to own, operate and maintain the electric distribution system at Little Rock Air Force Base…

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