09-Feb-2010 12:34 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Launch Facilities, Other Corporation, Outer Space, Support Functions - Other

SSI launch facilities
(click to view full)
Spaceport Systems International (SSI), a Lompoc, CA-based division of ITT Corp., received a $48 million contract to provide launch services for the Launch Test Squadron within the USAF Space and Missile Systems Center/Space Development and Test Wing.
Under the contract, SSI will provide launch site services for USAF space launch missions.
SSI provides payload processing and launch services to the US military and other US government customers…
Continue Reading… »
07-Feb-2010 20:30 EST
Related Stories: ABM, Alliances, Americas - USA, Asia - Central, Asia - China, Asia - Other, Australia & S. Pacific, Boeing, Budgets, Contracts - Awards, Corporate Financials, DARPA, Europe - E.U., Europe - France, Europe - Other, Fighters & Attack, General Dynamics, Helicopters & Rotary, Industry & Trends, Issues - International, Logistics, Middle East - Other, Mines & Countermine-IED, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Official Reports, Other Corporation, Policy - Doctrine, Pre-RFP, Specialty Aircraft, Submarines, Support Functions - Other, Surface Ships - Combat, Tanks & Mechanized, Transport & Utility, UAVs
07-Feb-2010 16:50 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Delivery & Task Orders, General Dynamics, Logistics, Support Functions - Other, Tanks & Mechanized

Styker APC in
Mosul traffic jam
(click to view full)
GM General Dynamics Land Systems Defense Group LLC Joint Venture in Sterling Heights, MI received a $253.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for follow-on contractor logistics support for Stryker family of vehicles in both garrison and deployment locations.
The 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicle is the backbone of the US Army’s 7 medium armored brigades, with an 8th on the way.
Of the 7 brigades, 3 are deployed in combat zones: 2 in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan. The Army has 3,320 Stryker vehicles, with more than 640 currently being used in combat.
Continue Reading… »
04-Feb-2010 20:40 EST
Related Stories: Americas - Other, Americas - USA, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, Corporate Financials, DARPA, Electronics - General, Equipment - Other, Europe - Other, IT - Cyber-Security, IT - General, IT - Networks & Bandwidth, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Simulation & Training, Specialty Aircraft, Support Functions - Other, Surface Ships - Combat, T&C - IBM
03-Feb-2010 14:04 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Financial & Accounting, IT - Cyber-Security, IT - General, IT - Software & Integration, Logistics, Other Corporation, Support Functions - Other

Unisys Clearpath Server
(click to view full)
While it might be more thrilling to imagine US Special Operations Forces getting critical intelligence about enemy movements through a laptop computer in the field, the bread and butter of US Department of Defense IT are mainframe computers. They have the computing power necessary to process the huge amount of information generated by the sprawling DoD bureaucracy.
One of the major suppliers of mainframe computers to DoD is Unisys. Since 1983, Unisys has been providing mainframe computer capacity for US Air Force logistics through the Defense Information Systems Agency. DISA is the DoD agency that provides command, control and computing capabilities to the US services, other DoD agencies, and coalition partners.
On Feb 3/10, Unisys announced that it received a renewal of its contract to provide mainframe computer processing capacity and support services to DISA in support of USAF logistics and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) financial activities. The contract is worth an estimated $187 million over 5 years.
Continue Reading… »
03-Feb-2010 13:11 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, General Dynamics, L3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Missiles - Ballistic, Other Corporation, Raytheon, Spotlight articles, Submarines, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other

Trident II D5 Test Launch
(click to view full)
Draper Lab gets $131.1 million contract to upgrade the guidance systems on the Trident II D5 missile. (Feb 2/10)
The year that the Trident II D5 ballistic missile was first deployed, 1990, saw the beginning of the end of the missile’s primary mission – to deter a first nuclear strike by the Soviet Union.
Nuclear tipped missiles were first deployed on board US submarines in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War to deter a Soviet first strike. The deterrence theorists argued that, unlike their land-based cousins, submarine-based nuclear weapons couldn’t be taken out by a surprise first strike by the Soviet Union because the submarines were nearly impossible to locate and target. Thus, Soviet leaders could not hope to destroy the weapons before they could be launched against Soviet territory.
But by the time the latest version of the submarine-launched ballistic missile was deployed, the existence of the Soviet Union itself was in doubt. The previous year, the Soviet’s Eastern European client states began to fall, symbolized by the destruction of the Berlin Wall. The Soviet Union itself began to crumble with various Soviet republics rebelling against the central government in 1990. Then, in 1991, a failed coup attempt against Soviet reformer Mikhail Gorbachev brought to power Boris Yeltsin, who promptly dissolved the Soviet Union…
02-Feb-2010 15:41 EST
Related Stories: Alliances, Americas - USA, Avionics, BAE, Boeing, Contracts - Intent, ECM, Electronics - General, Engines - Aircraft, Equipment - Other, Fighters & Attack, GE, GPS Infrastructure, Guns - 20-59 mm direct, Issues - International, L3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Middle East - Other, Northrop-Grumman, Protective Systems - Aircraft, Radars, Raytheon, Sensors & Guidance, Support Functions - Other, United Technologies

Egyptian Air Force F-16D
(click to view full)
Egypt chooses its engines. (Feb 1/10)
The Egyptian government wants to buy 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft, associated parts, weapons, and equipment to modernize its air force. The October 2009 request, made through the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to Congress, could be worth as much as $3.2 billion to Lockheed Martin and the other contractors involved.
The Egyptian Air Force is the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world, mustering about 195 aircraft of 220 ordered. Their overall fighter fleet is a mix of high-end F-16s and Mirage 2000s, low-end Chinese F-7s (MiG-21 copy) bought from the Chinese, a few F-4 Phantom II jets, and upgraded but very aged Soviet MiG-21s and French Mirage 5s. The formal request comes a few months after the Obama administration conveyed to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak its support for Egypt’s long-standing request to buy the Block 50/52 aircraft…
Continue Reading… »
02-Feb-2010 10:35 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Electronics - General, Other Corporation, Specialty Aircraft, Support Functions - Other, Transport & Utility
Flying around in the deserts of the Middle East, where the daytime temperature can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit, can take its toll on military aircraft’s electronics.
That is one of the reasons why the US Navy launched the Land-based Air Conditioner (LBAC) program, which is developing next-generation equipment to cool the electronics onboard US Navy and US Marine Corps aircraft when they return to base.
The Navy awarded a $21.4 million contract to JBT Corp. in Chicago, IL to produce 130 LBAC units and support equipment…
Continue Reading… »
01-Feb-2010 18:13 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, IT - General, IT - Software & Integration, Logistics, Support Functions - Other, T&C - CSC, Transformation

Rommel understood logistics
(German Federal Archives)
(click to view full)
The importance of logistics has long been recognized by generals. German Field Marshall Edwin Rommel once commented: “Battles are decided by the quartermasters before the first shot is fired.”
Apparently Rommel’s colleagues didn’t take his advice when preparing for the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The German army had planned for a swift victory, similar to the victory against France, so there was inadequate planning to equip the German troops for a long drawn out conflict in a brutal winter environment. But that is what they got, and the invasion ultimately failed.
To ensure its logistics system is up to the task of fighting overseas wars, the US Army Material Command (AMC) launched an effort called the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP). The program is designed to modernize systems and processes associated with managing the Army’s supply chain using a COTS-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) product developed by SAP. AMC recently awarded contract modifications to LMP prime contractor CSC in Falls Church, VA, worth $261 million to provide IT and logistics services under the LMP…
Continue Reading… »
01-Feb-2010 15:01 EST
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Australia & S. Pacific, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Intent, Contracts - Modifications, Europe - Other, FOCUS Articles, Finmeccanica, Force Structure, Forces - Marines, Forces - Special Ops, Issues - Political, Lobbying, Lockheed Martin, New Systems Tech, Official Reports, Partnerships & Consortia, Policy - Procurement, Procurement Innovations, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other, Transport & Utility

RAAF C-130J-30, flares
(click to view full)
$146 million for another year of USAF fleet engine support. (Feb 1/10)
The C-130 Hercules remains one of the longest-running aerospace manufacturing programs of all time. Since 1956, over 40 models and variants have served as the tactical airlift backbone for over 50 nations. The C-130J looks similar, but the number of changes almost make it a new aircraft. Those changes also created issues; the program has been the focus of a great deal of controversy in America – and even of a full program restructuring in 2006. Some early concerns from critics were put to rest when the C-130J demonstrated in-theater performance on the front lines that represented a major improvement over its C-130E/H predecessors. A valid follow-on question might be: does it break the bottleneck limitations that have hobbled a number of multi-billion dollar US Army vehicle development programs?
C-130J customers now include Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Iraq, Italy, Norway, Oman, Qatar, and the United States. American C-130J purchases are taking place under both annual budgets and supplemental wartime funding, in order to replace tactical transport and special forces fleets that are flying old aircraft and in dire need of major repairs. This DID FOCUS Article describes the C-130J, examines the bottleneck issue, covers global developments for the C-130J program, and looks at present and emerging competitors.