• CSBA Paper looks at potential US responses to China’s sea-denial doctrines: “Why AirSea Battle?” [PDF]. Defense Tech moves to strike up a conversation.

• Indian Air Force signs EUR 560 million contract for 12 AW101 VIP helicopters.

• Are trans-Atlantic defense partnerships viable? Wall Street Journal weighs in.

• So do European governments and firms, as ripples continue to spread from the KC-X tanker bid pullout by Round 1 winners EADS/Northrop Grumman.

• US and South Korea exercises prelude to that country taking over wartime operational control of its forces in 2012. Defense against WMD a focus. DoD article | CCTV.com report | AFP | Korea Herald | JoongAng Daily

• Navistar expects orders for US military trucks to raise profits in 2010.

• L-3’s STRATIS division wins $230.9 million contract recompete to provide intelligence support services to US and multinational forces in Iraq; division also snags $24.8 million US Special Ops imagery contract.

• Sikorsky’s H-92/CH-148 Cyclone naval helicopter prototype arrives in Canada for trials.

• Northrop demonstrates LITENING surveillance and targeting pod on a Super Hornet; Raytheon’s ATFLIR had been the only qualified option.

• South Africa: “Navy ready to defend World Cup.” We still don’t think that will be enough to stop the Brazilians.

“Go Ahead, Make My Day”
(click to view full)

The US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) awarded 10 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) support services at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

ECBC is the USA’s principal research and development center for non-medical chemical and biological defense. The center develops technology in the areas of CBRNE detection, protection, and decontamination, and provides support over the entire lifecycle – from basic research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and disposal.

The 10 ID/IQ contracts have a 5-year period of performance and a total value of $485 million for all awardees. Work will be performed at ECBC facilities on Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, at contractor offices, and at other customer sites as required.

The winners of the 10 contracts are:

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• Russia’s top military officer says US missile defense in Europe should be curbed in new arms control treaty.

• Russia is developing the T50/PAK-FA stealth fighter, but can aircraft maker Sukhoi meet the 2015 deadline? AvWeek DTI analysis.

• Commander of Canada’s 8 Wing transport squadrons charged with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Amid shock, another past case ruled out; but a serial killer investigation is underway. See timeline.

• India says it will integrate the Agni-III long-range missile system into the armed forces following 4th successful test launch.

• Rep. Norman Dicks, a Democrat from Washington with ties to Boeing, is expected to succeed Rep. John Murta [D-PA] as chairman of the US House defense appropriations panel.

• Textron mulls acquisitions in the defense sensor, ISR system, and military vehicle markets.

• Is Microsoft refusing to sell XBoxes to the US Army for training purposes?

• Tory leader says UK must develop military capabilities to act unilaterally if required.

• California state CIO Takai expected to be President Obama’s nominee for DoD CIO post.

• Australian uniforms: not made in China.

• US Navy Center for Information Dominance helps sailors train for Haitian languages, culture.

• SSI secures $48 million contract to provide USAF with space launch services.

• Versar and Kobe Steel get $13 million subcontract from URS to supply chemical weapons destruction technology.

Chemical weapons disposal
(click to view full)

To destroy chemical weapons, the US Army can’t just throw them in an incinerator. They have to be destroyed carefully so that no harmful chemicals are released into the air or water supplies.

In 2009, the US Army, working with the National Research Council (NRC), tested 4 technologies – 3 private-vendor systems and 1 Army-developed explosive destruction system (EDS) – to destroy chemical weapons. Tests were conducted at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

The developers of one of the systems tested – US-based Versar and Japan’s Kobe Steel – announced [pdf] Feb 9/10 that they received a $13 million subcontract from URS Corp. to deliver their Detonation in a Vacuum Assisted Chamber (DAVINCH) system to the Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele, UT for chemical weapons destruction. In addition to supplying the system, Versar will provide project management at the depot.

The Army testing revealed some interesting facts about the DAVINCH system…

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AGM-129A loaded on a B-52
at Minot Air Force Base, ND
(click to view full)

In 2007, a B-52 carried 6 unsecured nuclear-tipped AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The nuclear warheads were supposed to have been removed before the aircraft took off, but they remained on the aircraft unsecured at both Minot and Barksdale for 36 hours.

As a result of the incident, 4 USAF commanders were relieved of their commands; it also contributed to the resignation of top USAF officials. A Blue Ribbon Panel chaired by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger recommended that the USAF and the US Department of Defense (DoD) overhaul its handling of nuclear weapons security. In response, the USAF set up an Air Force Global Strike Command to oversee all bomber- and missile-based nuclear weapons.

The incident also prompted the US Navy to beef up its nuclear weapons security, which is overseen by the Strategic Systems Program...

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CBRN Training
at Fort Leonard Wood
(click to expand)

KCI Construction Co. in St. Louis, MO won a $20.7 million firm-fixed-price design-build contract to renovate 3 existing 3-story barracks, a dining hall and a battalion headquarters building at the US Army’s Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

Fort Leonard Wood is the home of the US Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, the US Army Engineering School, Military Police School, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) School, the Third Basic Combat Training Brigade, and Joint Training Detachments from the US Marine Corps, US Navy and US Air Force.

Under the contract, KCI will provide all analyses, design, procurement, installation, plant, labor, equipment, materials, and transportation and perform all required work…

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Hyperbaric Medicine Chamber
at Brooks City-Base, TX
(click to view full)

The US Air Force Research Laboratory awarded 6 contracts worth a combined $558 million for administrative and functional support, medical and biomedical research assistance, clinical and clinical hyperbaric medicine services, environmental bio-terrorism support, technology evaluation and research studies support services at Brooks City-Base, TX and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.

Brooks City-Base is home to the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM), [pdf] which is a center for aerospace medical learning, consultation, aerospace medical investigations and aircrew health assessments. The school operates a hyperbaric medicine chamber, which exposes patients to large amounts of oxygen to enrich blood and increase the body’s ability to heal.

The winners of the medical research support contracts are:

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IEDs: The Aftermath
(click to view full)

Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems in Ellicott City, MD won a $318 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity time-and-material task order to provide operational support services for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) analytical support teams deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The task order is part of a broader contract (W91CRB-08-D-0024) issued April 25/08 by the US Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) to provide operations support services to JIEDDO. Other companies that received JIEDDO support contracts were BAE Systems (W91CRB-08-D-0025), ITT (W91CRB-08-D-0026), and CACI (W91CRB-08-D-0027). Each contract has a maximum value of $453 million.

JIEDDO is responsible for developing and coordinating US Department of Defense efforts to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs)...

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The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, CA awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts to 4 small business qualifiers for advanced technology products in support of NAWCWD’s Weapons Prototype Division. The aggregate maximum for these multiple award contracts is $8.2 million.

Products and support to be provided include electronic components and systems, mechanical components and systems, energetic materials and systems, chemical materials and components, fabrication, assembly, plating/ painting/ finish, and packing and shipping.

The winners are:

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MWH Americas in Broomfield, CO and ARGO/LRS JV in Glen Burnie, MD have joined 42 other companies in being eligible to compete for $3 billion in US Air Force environmental work.

The two companies received contracts from the US Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment at Brooks City-Base, TX to compete for task orders to provide environmental requirements that include completion of conceptual design, construction, implementation, demolition, repair and operation and maintenance of installed systems prior to delivery to the government.

The work includes environmental remediation construction at US military facilities…

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