M50 mask training

In December 2011, Avon Protection Systems, Inc. in Cadillac, MI won a 5-year, $176.4 million firm-fixed-price contract to make M61 filter canisters for the new M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask. Work will be performed in Cadillac, MI, and is expected to run until Dec 22/16. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 6 bids received by U.S. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (W911SR-12-D-0001).

The new M50 mask is designed to be more compact, lighter, more comfortable and more effective than the older M40. When worn in conjunction with a MOPP suit, the mask allows over 24 hours of protection against chemical or biological agents and radioactive particulates. Improvements include a single cast, optically correct visor with a wider field of view than the previous twin-lens design, and a twin conformal filter for a 50% improvement in breathing resistance. Anyone who has ever tried heavy physical exertion in a gas mask understands how much that improvement means. The convenient integrated 3L Camelbak for drinking, and clip-on sunglasses or corrective lenses, will also be appreciated.

MTRS: TALON IV

Dragon Runner 10 mini-bot unveiled; $22M iRobot contract; E-IBCT’s SUGV 320 hits the rocks – more MTRS? (Sept 7/11)

In 2005 children’s toys were being used by American soldiers on the front lines, to help them look for roadside bombs. It would appear that someone took notice, because there has since been a flurry of activity on the robotic explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) front. The The Man Transportable Robotic System program took off, and its military ground robots began making a difference long before protected MRAP vehicles began to arrive in numbers.

The Academy-award winning movie “The Hurt Locker” made bomb disposal famous, but the reality of it involves far more robots, and far fewer wearable bomb suits. MTRS robots are the larger, heavy duty options for Explosives Ordnance Disposal technicians, though smaller options are also in service. So, what exactly is the MTRS program?

• MTRS: Why Send A Man to Do A Robot’s Job?
• MTRS: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• MTRS’ Mini-Mes: MARCbot & BomBot
• MTRS Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

5-6 year, $950M contract. (April 27/11)

Through the Co-operative Threat Reduction program, the Department of Defense provides equipment, services, and technical advice to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine to assist them in eliminating (or in the case of Russia, reducing) the weapons of mass destruction remaining from the Soviet era, and preventing proliferation. That means dismantling the associated infrastructure, or transforming portions of it to engage in peaceful civilian activities.

The U.S. objectives in the CTR program as established by Congress are to cooperate with the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union to:

• Contractor killed in blast and fire at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

• Integral Systems in Colorado Springs, CO gets $21.8 million in contracts to provide technical support for US military satellites.

• ATK gets $13.4 million in new 25mm tactical ammunition contracts from allies in the Middle East and North Africa.

• AAI receives $9.7 million contract to provide an electronic warfare radio frequency simulator to the USAF’s EW Avionics Integration Support Facility at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

• Alion snags $4.6 million US Navy contract to provide PC-based systems to train sailors for the Littoral Combat Ship-2 readiness control officer position.

“Go Ahead, Make My Day”

The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has undertaken an R&D effort to provide an integrated approach to combating weapons of mass destruction (WMD) known as the Research and Development Enterprise [PDF]. Their efforts are aimed at improving situational awareness about the WMD threat, controlling WMD materials and systems worldwide, reducing the threat to US troops, protecting the homeland, transforming the US nuclear deterrent, and controlling the threat of loose nuclear weapons in the world.

As part of this effort, DTRA awarded a contract April 18/11 worth up to $600 million to TASC in Chantilly, VA to provide advisory services to the agency’s effort in this area…

• US costs of Libyan operation total $550 million so far, according to DoD official.

• Flight International provides an overview of allied air operations and assets against Libyan air defenses, and adds the destruction of a Libyan plane by a French Rafale fighter – after the Libyan aircraft landed. The evolving Wikipedia entry remains an excellent overview of the forces at work so far, and includes a timeline. See also Canada’s National Post, who shows recent events using changing maps.

• While initial goals have been reached, NATO remains divided on what’s next, as are key US figures. Meanwhile, as WIRED puts it: “While Libya War Grows, Obama Team Denies It’s a War.” That’s dangerous territory for an administration with no Congressional approval for its actions, hence a 60-day time limit, and no endgame in sight.

• Fox News and the New Yorker offer different perspectives re: the Libyan rebels, in the wake of allegations that al-Qaeda may in fact be involved. Or, you could ask Canada’s CSIS intelligence analysis agency, which looked at eastern Libya in 2009.

• Russian Army is replacing its Grad MRLS systems with new Tornado-G systems, which have ranges up to 90 kilometers.

• Up to $100 million to Qwest Communications to provide IP services to DoD under the GSA’s Networx program.

• State-sponsored cyber threats to US infrastructure are growing, head of STRATCOM warns Congress [PDF].

• US Army Chemical Materials Agency has destroyed 85% of the US chemical agent stockpile, or a total of 26,019 tons of agent and more than 2.3 million munitions.

• Northrop Grumman’s AMSEC snags US Navy contract worth up to $40.2 million to provide marine design and engineering services to Puget Sound and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyards and intermediate maintenance facilities.

• Lance Cpl Liam Tasker took a bullet to save his Arms and Explosives Search dog, Theo. But working dogs are more than simple procurement items, and Cpl Tasker’s death ultimately killed them both.

• Chinese President Hu Jintao confirms 1st flight test of J-20 stealth fighter jet. The debate about it is robust. Some analyses see it as a serious threat to the entire American concept of operations; effectively, a Chinese FB-22. Others point out the ancillary components required to be really effective, and David Axe has a good roundup and a full Diplomat article that calls it “over hyped.” Then, there’s the Russian view...

• ITT’s decision to split into 3 companies was spurred by expected slowdown in defense segment.

• South Korea wants to expand purchases of UAVs, missiles, radar, and missile defense systems from Israel, according to Haaretz.com. Our readers have seen that trend coming...

• Israel’s IAI rumored to be working with India on an unmanned Dhruv helicopter.

• India’s 3rd IL-76 Phalcon AWACS plane will have some extra features, courtesy of IAI…

• EADS CEO Louis Gallois tells press he expects the company to return to profitability next year.

• The US Army’s Umatilla chemical depot gets Oregon state OK to increase incineration of chemical mustard agent to 100% of capacity, up from a previous 75% level.

• USAF will continue using the F-4 Phantom II fighter, in a new mission.

• The SEIU union says documents it obtained shows Sodexo’s $1.2 billion USMC food service contract has suffered from cost overruns and audit problems; apparently, the union and the company have an ongoing feud.

• Up to $1.7 billion to CSC, Sparta, and General Dynamics for infrastructure and deployment services for the US Ballistic Missile Defense System under the MDA’s Engineering and Support Services (MiDAESS) program.

• Bolivia signs agreement with Iran to buy Fajr F.3 and S-68 training aircraft, 52-seat Iran-140 aircraft, and 4-seat helicopters.

• Debt Buyback: Northrop Grumman to purchase $2.1 billion in debt securities of its Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. subsidiaries.

• A Flare for Flares: ATK snags $71 million contract to supply aircraft-deployed LUU-2D/B visible light illumination flares and LUU-19B/B infrared energy illumination flares for battlefield operations.

• Can you hear me now?: ManTech receives a $68 million contract to build and deploy an expeditionary cell phone system for the US Army’s forward bases in Afghanistan.

• Midwest Research Institute gets $35.5 million order to supply a test system for chemical weapon contamination at the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

• ASPI analyst Mark Thomson discusses the underlying economic realities that may cripple western military power, and what that means for Australia.

• French Groupement des Industries de Construction et d’Activités Navales (GICAN) Chairman Jean-Marie Poimboeuf offers some thoughts of his own in the naval sphere.

• The Managing Director of BAE Australia offers some thoughts on that country’s defense industry, and the government’s Strategic Reform Program

• Australia may end up cutting its Armidale Class replacement corvette/OPV project.

• AeroVironment’s Global Observer High Altitude, Extreme Endurance UAV completes initial flight testing at Edwards AFB, CA.

• Russia presses for limits to troop and equipment levels in NATO’s new members.

• Iranian Cyber Army offers botnets for rent to cyber criminals, after hacking Twitter and Chinese search engine Baidu.

• RAF unit puts out fires in Afghanistan, literally.

• General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman post higher third-quarter profits and boost earnings guidance for year.

• Boeing agrees to pay $4 million to settle US Department of Justice lawsuit alleging company overcharged the USAF for B-1 bomber towed decoy system kits.

• DARPA’s Prophecy project looks to stay a step ahead of virus evolution, something with strong public health relevance as well as defensive military uses. That’s good, because the US State Department’s new arms control compliance report shows that there is a lot we do not know about the world’s germ warfare programs.

• Research and Markets: The South African defense industry is expected to continue its consolidation trend, with fewer firms competing for more international business. No surprise, given its weak domestic market.

• F-35 flight tests suspended, due to issues with fuel-system software on all variants and with a door hinge on the Marines’ F-35B.

• At least one person on Cryptome thinks the Stuxnet worm is too sloppy to be Israeli malware, and that the “myrtus” aspect of it has a non-biblical explanation. Meanwhile, Iran blusters – and may be about to implement the accompanying social hack.

• Collateral Economy: US military’s 17 facilities in Maryland generate $36 billion annually in economic activity, according to a University of Baltimore report [PDF].

• Cleveland Rocks: Defense News reports that Cleveland Ship has bid for Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding unit, which Bloomberg estimates to be worth up to $4.6 billion.

• Canada’s AirBoss-Defense gets $22 million worth of orders to supply CBRN protective boots and gloves to the US military.

• Up to $8 million to Kratos for IT and cybersecurity support for the US Navy’s Pacific region network.