[by John MacNeill]
Goo goo g’joob!

In April 2005, “USN, DARPA See Blimps & HULAs Rising”, looked at a range of projects on the drawing board, including the Walrus heavy-transport blimp (that’s “heavy” as in “1-2 million pounds”) which offered the potential for a faster and more versatile sealift substitute.

In this article DID explains the Walrus concept, details the contractors and contracts involved in this initial award (including a few updates), and lays out the program’s structure… or at least, what used to be its structure. 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? What about Paul? And could it, or a HULA like like it, rise again?

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Oshkosh M-ATV
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US government FedBizOpps, November 2008:

“The Government plans to acquire an MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). The M-ATV is a lighter, off-road, and more maneuverable vehicle that incorporates current MRAP level protection. The M-ATV will require effectiveness in an off-road mission profile. The vehicle will include EFP and RPG protection (integral or removable kit). The M-ATV will maximize both protection levels and off-road mobility & maneuverability attributes, and must balance the effects of size and weight while attempting to achieve the stated requirements.”

The current plan expects to spend up to $3.3 billion to order 5,244 M-ATVs for the US Army (2,598), Marine Corps (1,565), Special Operations Command (643), US Air Force (280) and the Navy (65), plus 93 test vehicles. Monthly delivery rates of up to 1,000 vehicles were part of the solicitation. Those requirements, and American requirements around classified data and regulatory compliance, ensured that the only reasonable contenders were firms that already produced MRAPs, trucks, or tactical vehicles for American forces: BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Force Protection, Navistar, and Oshkosh. Oshkosh Defense secured a long-denied MRAP win, and continues to remain ahead of production targets.

The first vehicles have begun arriving on the ground in Afghanistan, support contracts are being signed, and Oshkosh has begun fighting for export orders in Australia…

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USS Toledo (SSN-769)
Sonar System
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Small business qualifier Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) in Arlington, VA received a $49.1 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software development and engineering services in support of the automatic test and re-test (ATRT) product, which will test software on naval weapons systems.

ATRT [pdf] is a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) effort whose objective is to leverage commercial automated testing best practices to reduce overall system development testing costs, maintain or improve software product quality, and shorten the software certification timeline.

The contract will fund development of the ATRT product – which IDT estimates will cut software testing costs by 25% – for automated testing of submarine combat systems for all classes of submarines currently in the fleet and under development…

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General Dynamics Team
Trimaran LCS Design
(click to enlarge)

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $30+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, what the Navy wanted, the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, and what could be delivered for the sums available, have proven nearly irreconcilable. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan several times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams, without escaping any of its fundamental issues.

The latest additions include completion of LCS-2 builder tests, and plans to deploy LCS-1 ahead of schedule…

• LCS: Concept & Needs
• LCS: The Competing Teams
• LCS Solution = Standard Equipment + Mission Modules
• LCS: Controversies & Cautions
• LCS: Budgets and Program Structure
• LCS: Export Potential
• LCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• LCS Ancillaries: Mission Module & Weapon Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  
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Boeing’s concept
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In April 2008, 3 teams received Phase 1 contracts to begin developing develop a radical new aircraft, under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program known as “Vulture.” DARPA’s goals for Vulture are not trivial: 5 years on station with a 450kg/ 1,000lb payload, 5kW of onboard power, and sufficient loiter speed to stay on station for 99% of the time against winds encountered at 60,000-90,000 feet.

So, what’s the significance of a platform like that, who is competing, and what is happening now? Well, Phase 1 is done, and a $155 million Phase 2 is being prepared.

• The Potential, and the Process
• The Designers & The Designs
• Contracts and Related Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems in Redondo Beach, CA won a $28.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to conduct research for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Nitride Electronic Next Generation Technology (NEXT) Program.

The NEXT program is designed to enable revolutionary advances in nitride electronic devices and integrated circuits resulting in their ability to operate at very high frequencies while maintaining extremely favorable voltage breakdown characteristics. DARPA is looking for ways to overcome the limitations of nitride-based electronics technologies, such as gallium nitride (GaN). “GaN: DARPA’s 3-Pronged R&D Strategy” has more on DARPA’s GaN research efforts.

The program aims to develop high-speed, high-power transistors for use in radar and electronic warfare systems…

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Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) in North Charleston, SC received a $99 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to operate and manage the Shipbuilding Technology Center of Excellence (STCOE) to develop shipbuilding-related manufacturing technologies and to implement them in America’s shipyards. The STCOE will work closely with the US Navy’s acquisition community and the shipbuilding industry to identify manufacturing technology issues that have a negative impact on shipyard efficiency (cycle-time and cost). The STCOE will then solicit, select, and implement projects to improve these inefficiencies.

ATI will perform the work in North Charleston, SC and expects to complete it by August 2014. This contract was competitively procured under a Request For Proposals (N00014-09-R-0004), with 2 offers received by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Arlington, VA (N00014-09-D-0584).

Under the contract, ATI will carry out a number of STCOE tasks for the US Navy…

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Tarian close-up
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Working with Britain’s Ministry of Defense, a transatlantic firm named AmSafe has come up with a novel solution to anti-tank rockets: fabric panels mounted on the sides of trucks and armored vehicles.

“BAE’s LROD Cage Armor” discussed the front-line threat of Rocket Propelled Grenades like the popular RPG-7, the uses of steel “cage armor,” and BAE’s much lighter aluminum solution. AmSafe’s Tarian (Welsh for “shield”) has been deployed by British forces, remains in development for new vehicle types, and offers several advantages over cage armor. Not least of which is a 50% weight savings over aluminum, and 85% savings over steel cage options…

• The RPG-7 Problem, and Solutions
• Tarian: Development and Performance
• Tarian: Next Steps
• Contracts and Key Events
  
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M777: dragon’s breath
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The M777 ultra-lightweight towed 155mm howitzer has an integrated digital fire control system, and can fire all existing 155mm projectiles. Nothing new there. What is new is the fact that this 9,700 pound howitzer saves over 6,000 pounds of weight by making extensive use of titanium and advanced aluminum alloys, allowing it to be carried by Marine Corps MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft or medium helicopters, and/or airdropped by C-130 aircraft. The new gun is a joint program between the US Army and Marine Corps to replace existing 155mm M198s, and will perform fire support for U.S. Marine Air Ground Task Forces and U.S. Army Stryker Brigade Combat Teams.

Britain is also an M777 LWH development partner, but Canada became the first country to field it in combat via an emergency buy before their 2006 “Operation Archer” deployment to Afghanistan. This is DID’s new FOCUS article covering the M777 program. The latest news includes another orders from Canada and the US military…

• M777: Capabilities and Upgrades
• M777: Program
• M777: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Wyle Laboratories in Huntsville, AL received a $38.6 million option on a previously awarded contract (HC1047-05-D-4005) to provide support to the U.S. Defense Technical Information Center’s Reliability Information Analysis Center (RIAC). The center is the technical focal point for information, data, analysis, training, and technical assistance in the engineering fields of reliability, maintainability, quality, supportability, and interoperability (RMQSI) for Department of Defense (DoD) military and support systems. The 55th Contracting Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, manages the contract.

DID has more on Wyle contract and the work of the RIAC…

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