• EADS says it might submit bid for KC-X aerial tanker RFP without Northrop Grumman; Pentagon mulls deadline extension. Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | MarketWatch

• EADS CEO says the company is looking to buy a medium-sized defense company in the US.

• Strategy Analytics: Annual market for SATCOM-related electronics to grow from $796 million in 2009 to nearly $2.58 billion in 2020.

• CACI secures $219 million contract to provide C4ISR and IT to SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.

• F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter passes first vertical landing test.

• Boeing completes design of US Navy free electron laser weapon system to take out high-speed cruise missiles.

• Honeywell gets US Army order to maintain Cold War era Washington-Moscow hotline.

Somewhere, over
the rainbow…
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Nuclear reactors save a lot of diesel fuel, but until the new CVN-21 carriers arrive, there’s a catch. Mid-way through the ships’ 50-year life, the nuclear reactor needs to be refueled – a long, complex, and expensive process. Anyone who has ever done home renovations knows that the opportunity to make upgrades can be nearly irresistible in these situations, and in truth, this stage in the carrier’s life is a very good time for that kind of work.

The USS Abraham Lincoln [CVN 72] was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on Nov 11/89 and homeported in Everett, WA, CVN 72 is expected to remain in service until 2039. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, its mid-life upgrade and reactor refueling approaches. Its counterparts USS Carl Vinson [CVN 70] has jus completed its RCOH, and USS Theodore Roosevelt’s [CVN 71] is underway. CVN 72 is just getting ready to deploy, but in a few years she will become the 6th American carrier to undergo this procedure…

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The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple-award contracts to 9 companies for commercial and military institutional building construction in the Southwest United States.

The maximum dollar value, including the base period and 4 option years, for all contracts is $900 million.

The 9 NAVFAC contract winners are:

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C-17 over Hawaii
(click to view full)

Q3 payment raises FY 2010 total over $800 million. (March 18/10)

While the C-17 may have limited production time in its future, the C-17 Globemaster Sustainment Partnership is likely to continue for many years. The rising cost of maintenance has made it a greater concern to the world’s militaries, and new contract vehicles are reflecting that. Under the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, Boeing has total system support responsibility for the big transport aircraft, including materiel management and depot maintenance, for fleets around the world. The goal is total aircraft sustainment support under a single contract, in order to achieve improvements in mission readiness, while reducing operating and support costs. The initial contract had an estimated total value of $4.9 billion, which is likely to grow as Boeing’s customer base grows in Australia (4), Britain (6), Canada (4), Qatar (2), and NATO (3).

This is DID’s in-depth, updated FOCUS Article covering this major international program, offering key statistics for the aircraft, explaining the GSP’s components, and detailing its contracts.

• The C-17 Globemaster III
• The C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership
• The C-17 PE/PI Program
• Contracts and Key Events, FY 2004-Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Looking a little dated
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The Navy recently awarded an $83 million contract for e-CASS development, production and testing. The AN/USM-636(V) Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) is the US Navy’s standard automatic test equipment family. It provides intermediate, depot and factory level support, both ashore and afloat, for testing all Navy electronics, from aircraft to ships and submarines.

CASS has been around since 1990, and it’s time for an upgrade. The Navy is planning to replace the existing 5 CASS mainframe systems with the next-generation electronic CASS (e-CASS) system. US Naval aviation currently uses 713 CASS stations for testing of aircraft electronics. CASS is also used at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and in 9 foreign countries…

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CEC Concept
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Minor DAE contract a sign that Britain’s new ships will have CEC? (March 18/10)

Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is far more than a mere data-sharing program, or even a sensor fusion effort. Indeed, it may well be the most revolutionary capability available to the modern US Navy. This DID FOCUS Article explains those mechanics and implications. It will also track ongoing research, updates, and contracts related to CEC capabilities from 2000 forward.

The concept behind CEC is a sensor netting system that allows many ships to pool their radar and sensor information together, creating a very powerful and detailed picture that’s much finer, more wide-ranging, and more consistent than any one ship could generate on its own. The data is then shared among all ships and participating systems in the air and on the ground, using secure frequencies. It’s a simple premise, but a difficult technical feat. With huge implications.

• Co-operative Engagement Capability: How It Works (i.e. Continue reading…)
• CEC: Contracts and Key Events, 2000 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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A-RCI is a sonar system upgrade installed on the USA’s entire submarine fleet, including SSN-688 Los Angeles & SSN-688I Improved Los Angeles Class, SSN-21 Seawolf Class, SSN-744 Virginia Class, SSBN-726 Ohio Class nuclear missile boats, and the new SSGN Tactical Trident special ops and strike subs.

DID’s Spotlight on A-RCI adds a bit more explanation of exactly what the program entails and where its benefits were focused, as well as covers contracts placed under the A-RCI program from FY 2005 onward. The program’s concept is simple: you can upgrade the system, without changing the sensors. By sharply upgrading ship sensor processing, it integrates and improves the boat’s towed array, hull array and sphere array sonars, running more advanced algorithms and providing a fuller “picture” of the surrounding environment. Sometimes, it really is all about what you can do with it. A-RCI’s open architecture concept also make it easier to integrate additional sensors, providing a dual-track improvement option for American submarines.

• A-RCI: Specifics & Benefits
• A-RCI: FY 2005-2010 Contracts [updated]
  
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• Defense executive panel offers advice to contractors on future industry challenges.

• Nordic Alliance proposal continues to make political progress.

• ASDReports.com: Global market for armored vehicles will reach $10.3 billion, fueled by continued IED threat.

• US Army: “Review drops two-war force size paradigm,” changing the assumptions used to set required military forces.

• “American Civil Liberties Union” sues the government, asking for in-depth information about the use of UAV strikes in foreign wars.

• CSC snags 5-year, $27 million contract to provide IT to US DoD’s Dependents Schools-Europe, which runs 81 schools for the children of US military.

• Cubic in San Diego, CA will supply small arms training systems to Saudi Arabia under a $30 million contract.

• Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird Warrior helicopter UAV completes resupply trials with US Marines. Main competition is Kaman’s K-MAX.

• USAF continues its shift from cost-plus contracts toward fixed-cost, for the F-35 program. Meanwhile, the first production model F-35B hovers in a test.

• Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Release 1.1 (Single Supply Solution) goes live at Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). Sounds simple. Isn’t, in practice.

• General Dynamics gets $30.6 million contract to supply 118 Type-3 advanced mission computers for the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

• Czech firm Aero Vodochody says it will supply 40 cockpits for the US Blawk Hawk troop transport and utility helicopter.

Back in June 2006, Boeing and Raytheon teams were preparing for a big border surveillance contract. It was all part of the USA’s Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive plan to secure U.S. borders and reduce illegal immigration, including an array of technical aids and elements on both the northern Canadian border and the southern border with Mexico. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency would lead and execute both the SBI and related SBInet “virtual fence” efforts, mirroring similar programs underway around the world.

As promised, a winner was announced in September 2006 – and it was Team Boeing. In March 2010, however, funding has been frozen.

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On March 17/10 DLA’s Defense Supply Center Philadelphia awarded 2 contracts to Cardinal Health, a Dublin, OH-based pharmaceutical and medical products supplier, worth up to $807.1 million for drug distribution to US military medical facilities worldwide.

Under a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity prime vendor contract (SPM2DX-10-D-0001), Cardinal Health will distribute drugs to medical facilities onboard US Navy ships. The contract has a 20-month base period with two 20-month option periods and a maximum value of $150 million, according to a DefenseLink announcement.

Under a requirements-type prime vendor contract (SPM2DX-10-D-0027), the company will distribute pharmaceuticals to US military medical facilities in Europe and the Pacific. That contract has a 20-month base period worth $206.4 million and two 20-month option periods, with a maximum value of $657.1 million, according to a FedBizOpps notice.

DLA also selected a small business qualifier as a secondary drug supplier to Europe and the Pacific.

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