BAE Systems received a contract worth up to $233 million to support the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) with engineering services, production engineering, integration, testing, inspection, and installation of various C4ISR (command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems.

As part of the contract, BAE’s Electronics, Intelligence and Support division will provide information, operating system integration and related services at land-based facilities and on various platforms, such as ships, submarines, and ground vehicles.

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Patriot PAC-2
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A 2007 US National Intelligence Assessment [redacted NIE summary] believes Iran’s nuclear program has stopped, but others, including the United Nations and Israel are more skeptical. Intelligence is always a very uncertain and ambiguous exercise, and occasionally features assessments like the infamous NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) whose 1962 judgment was that there were no Soviet missiles in Cuba [1]. Uncertainty creates perceptions of risk, and perceptions of risk lead to behaviors aimed at reducing that risk. Iraq is no longer a missile/WMD threat, Iran’s regular and Revolutionary Guards air forces remain relatively weak, and Iran’s ballistic missiles based on North Korean designs lack accuracy. Still, even a lucky conventional missile could create havoc in some Gulf states if it hit important oil-related infrastructure, or hit the larger and more nebulous target of business confidence.

Arms spending is an incomplete but very concrete way of tracking a state’s real assessment of threats and priorities. It’s becoming clear that Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have stepped up their defense spending in recent years. Those expenditures cover a range of equipment, but anti-ballistic missile capabilities appear to be rising to the top of the priority list.

In June 2008, over $10 billion worth of December 2007 Patriot missile upgrade requests in the UAE and Kuwait shone a spotlight on the region’s new defense priorities. In December 2008, a multi-billion dollar Patriot missile contract from the UAE seemed to lock in that shift, and Kuwait is proceeding with upgrades to its own Patriot systems. Upgrades that have led to recent contracts, and sales requests…

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Buffalo, arrivé
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The French DGA procurement agency recently announced [in French] that its 2009 urgences operations (UO, formerly “crash programs”) budget doubled from EUR 131 million in 2008 to EUR 260 million in 2009. This change is in line with a broader international trend, as front-line operations in Afghanistan and beyond reveal limitations in existing equipment, as well as new equipment needs. One change from 2008 was an increased emphasis on naval systems, as 4 of 36 UO programs focused on counter-piracy efforts.

Key 2009 programs included 32 armoring kits for France’s Puma and Cougar medium helicopters, 200 vehicle up-armoring kits, 150 IED jammers, 5 Buffalo mine-clearing vehicles, 60 RWS remote-control turrets for vehicles, The Venus project for on-the-move communication with the Syracuse satellite system, 10 SATCOM on-the-move stations, Integration of America’s Remote Operational Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) ground-to-air communications for 25 Mirage 2000 fighters, and retrofitted IRST optical systems for existing French frigates that allow long-range passive scan and identification of naval targets.

cutaway view
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Saab recently announced a 1.5 billion SEK (about $220 million) contract from the United Arab Emirates for 2 of its Saab 340 regional turboprops, equipped with Erieye active-array radars that can scan large airspace volumes, and with related command and control systems. The Saab 340 AEW contract also includes ground equipment, initial spares, and support services. An official statement hinted at more orders to come, saying that:

“The UAE Air Force & Air Defence is currently evaluating several options to purchase permanent solution Command and Early Warning aircraft to meet the UAE Armed Forces operational requirements.”

The UAE is just the latest buyer of Saab’s Erieye system…

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TIGR system screenshot
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Ascend Intelligence in Arlington, VA received a $14 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to supply the tactical ground reporting (TIGR) system for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

First tested in Iraq in 2007, TIGR is a multimedia reporting system for US troops at the patrol level, allowing users to collect and share information to improve situational awareness and to facilitate collaboration and information analysis among junior officers. TIGR complements existing reporting systems that focus on the needs of users at battalion or brigade level and above.

TIGR has a map-based user interface and supports multimedia and GPS input, as well as distributed search and caching capability. It uses software that runs on a laptop and taps into multiple databases containing intelligence about a particular area…

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IRST: B-2, ICU
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The F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet Block IIs are just beginning to enter service, with significantly improved AN/APG-79 AESA radars and other electronic upgrades. Recent years have seen another spreading improvement within global fighter fleets, however: Infa-Red Search & Track (IRST) systems that provide long range thermal imaging against air and ground targets. Most of these deployments have been on Russian (MiG-29 family, SU-30 family) and European (Eurofighter, Rafale) fighters, or special American exports (UAE’s F-16E/F Block 60s, F-15K/SG).

That absence puts American fighters behind an important curve. This IRST approach can defeat radar stealth in some instances, by focusing on engine exhaust or on the friction of the aircraft as it powers through the atmosphere. As F-14 pilots will recall, long range electro-optics also offer positive identification, conferring the ability to use a plane’s missiles to their full ranges, without creating friendly fire concerns. Best of all, IRST offers a passive way to locate and target enemy aircraft – one that won’t trigger radar warning receivers. When coupled with medium-range IR missiles like some Russian AA-10 variants, France’s MICA-IR, or even future versions of AMRAAM NCADE, an IRST system offers a fighter both an extra set of medium-range eyes, and a stealthy air-to-air combat weapon.

A program is beginning that would give American “teen series” fighters this capability, albeit in a somewhat unusual way…

• Tanks for the View: The IRST + Fuel Solution
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
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Avenger
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In November 2009, Chile submitted a pair of purchase requests to the US DSCA whose net effect would be to create a mobile short-range air defense system for its army. Chile’s Ejercito currently relies on MBDA’s shoulder-fired Mistral missiles for this role, but the addition of Avenger fire units and Sentinel radars would offer quantum leaps forward in mobility and battlefield awareness.

Rebounds in commodity prices have helped several nations, Chile among them. The country’s goal is to modernize their military by 2015, and mechanized forces seem to be playing a much greater role in the new structure. Recent military purchases have included Leopard 2A4 tanks and Marder IFVs from Germany, M113 variants from the USA and Belgium, and upgraded M109 self-propelled howitzers. They are also reportedly modifying the Army’s structure by adding armored brigades throughout their entire territory. Mobile forces need mobile protection, however – hence the current half-billion dollar request set…

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ManTech International Corp. in Chantilly, VA won a 5-year, $286.5 million cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide scientific and engineering support services for the US Army Electronic Proving Ground (EPG) at Fort Huachuca, AZ.

ManTech will support testing of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I), navigation, and sensor systems for reliability, availability and maintainability, electromagnetic interference and compatibility, and security.

The EPG, part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), is the Army’s primary test facility for C4I systems…

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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 latest news includes FY 2010 budget updates, delivery performance, and a $400+ million order for more vehicles…

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General Dynamics Information Technology received a $22.2 million contract from the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to support the Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System Next Generation (NITES-Next) program. The contract has a potential value of $67.7 million over 5 years if all options are exercised.

General Dynamics will design, develop, integrate, test and support the deployment of NITES-Next, which uses software to display meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) information on Navy mission-planning and command and control (C2) systems. NITES-Next is a follow-on system to the Navy’s NITES…

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