Global Express
(click to view full)

$78 million for FY 2010 maintenance, industry award. (Feb 22/10)

In late June 2009, the USAF awarded Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems Inc., of San Diego, CA an urgent requirement contract for its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) System. At present, Northrop Grumman will help the USAF deploy BACN in 4 Bombardier BD-700 Global Express (see also BACN-modified photo) ultra-long-range business jets for immediate fielding, and in 2 RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 20 UAVs for sustained deployment through 2015.

BACN is an airborne communications relay that extends communications ranges, bridges between radio frequencies, and “translates” among incompatible communications systems. That may sound trivial, but on a tactical level, it definitely isn’t…

• The BACN System
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

Austal MRV/JHSV concept
(click to view full)

Is program expansion from 8 to 28 ships in the cards? (Feb 3/10)

The US Army and Navy have leased Incat TSV/HSV wave-piercing catamaran ship designs, while the Marines’ charged ahead with very successful use of Austal’s Westpac Express high-speed catamaran. These Australian-designed ships all give commanders the ability to roll on a company with full gear and equipment (or roll on a full infantry battalion if used only as a troop transport), haul it intra-theater distances at 38 knots, then move their shallow draft safely into austere ports to roll them off.

Unsurprisingly, their use has attracted favorable comment and notice from all services. So favorable that the experiments have led to a $1.6 billion program called the Joint High Speed Vessel, which could involve up to 10 ships. These designs may even have uses beyond simple ferrying and transport. DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record, and this article covers JHSV from its inception onward.

• The US Military’s HSV/TSV Experience
• The JHSV Program
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

General Dynamics Team
Trimaran LCS Design
(click to enlarge)

New RFP provokes questions, sonar solicitation, “water wings” for LCS 1. (Feb 25/10)

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $30+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, what the Navy wanted, the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, and what could be delivered for the sums available, have proven nearly irreconcilable. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan several times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams, without escaping any of its fundamental issues. This public-access FOCUS article offer a wealth of research material, alongside looks at the LCS program’s designs, industry teams procurement plans, military controversies, and contracts.

• LCS: Concept & Needs
• LCS: The Competing Teams
• LCS Solution = Standard Equipment + Mission Modules
• LCS: Controversies & Cautions
• LCS: Budgets and Program Structure [updated]
• LCS: Export Potential
• LCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• LCS Ancillaries: Mission Module & Weapon Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

Harris IT Services received a 5-year, $26 million contract to provide managed IT services to the US Air National Guard (ANG) Network and Regional Operations and Security Centers (ROSCs).

The Air National Guard is consolidating its IT infrastructure from 11 ROSCs across the United States into a centrally managed hub. Harris team members include TechTeam Government Solutions and NetApp.

The 1-year base-period contract with 4 one-year options includes Tier III technical support for enterprise IT systems such as applications, infrastructure, vulnerability assessment, directory services, boundary protection and messaging. Tier III technical support, also known as back-end or high-end support, involves handling advanced IT problems and using expert-level troubleshooting and analytic methods.

This award was issued under the US Air Force Network-Centric Solutions (NetCents) contract.

Continue Reading… »

Galileo concept
(click to view full)

The European Union is cooperating with a number of outside investors to replace the USA’s free Global Positioning System service with an alternative under their own control. In addition to civilian GPS (the Open Service), services to be offered include a paid Commercial Service (with accuracy greater than 1 meter), and a Public Regulated Service (PRS)/ Safety of Life Service (SoL) for use by security authorities (police, military, etc.) and safety-critical transport applications (air-traffic control, automated aircraft landing, etc.). PRS/SoL aims to offer Open Service quality, with added robustness against jamming and the reliable detection of problems within 10 seconds.

Organizational issues and shortfalls in expected progress pushed the “Galileo” project back from its originally intended operational date of 2007 to 2014 – and doubts persist in several quarters about its economic model, even as security issues arise regarding China’s COMPASS project. After a public-private partnership model failed to agree among themselves or with the EU’s desired terms, the organization gained initial-stage approval for its plan to finance the program with tax dollars instead of the expected private investments. Political issues were overcome, albeit with some protest, by raiding other EU accounts for over EUR 3 billion (about $5.35 billion) in funds, rather than asking for more money from member states.

The latest set of updates cover developments in Galileo, and in related programs like GIOVE and EGNOS. While the project’s base funding is now more secure, its ability to remain within budget will be tested. Recent events include over EUR 1 billion in contracts…

• Galileo: Goals, Structure & Costs
• “Eppur, Si Bloccare”: Trials & Tribulations [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: The EU Proposal – Going Forward (2007)
• Appendix B: Additional Readings [updated]
• Appendix C: Additional Readings – The Security Dimension
  
  Continue Reading… »

TuAF F-16s
(click to view full)

On Sept 28/06, the US DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Turkey of 30 more F-16C Block 50 aircraft, as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $2.9 billion. This sale is in addition to Turkey’s $1.1 billion upgrade program for its existing F-16 fleet, which aims to bring all of its aircraft to a common configuration. More than 200 F-16 aircraft currently make up the backbone of Turkey’s current fighter fleet, and this marks the 52nd follow-on buy of F-16s by 14 repeat customers. Over 4,300 F-16s have been delivered to 24 nations. Turkey is one of 5 countries that has built F-16s locally (USA, Belgium, Netherlands, South Korea, Turkey), and the final Turkish F-16 under this contract will be delivered in 2013.

Turkey’s rival Greece recently bought 30 F-16 Block 50/52 Plus aircraft. While the Hellenic Air force has decided to pass on the option for an additional 10 F-16s and delayed consideration of new fighters beyond 2011, Turkey joined the F-35’s production planning phase in 2007. If they decide to continue, production orders will be placed; meanwhile, the Government of Turkey is moving ahead with its F-16 fleet expansion plans.

This article will cover the deal as its component contracts and agreements come together. The latest items include a major purchase of targeting pods, giving the TuAF a new level of ground strike capability…

Continue Reading… »

SAC 01: Come to Papa!
(click to view full)

The long-range C-17 Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft remains the backbone of US Air Mobility Command inter-theater transport around the world, and its ability to operate from shorter and rougher runways has made it especially useful during the Global War on Terror. Recent buys by Australia, Britain, and Canada have broadened the plane’s its global use. Now NATO, who has relied on the SALIS arrangement and its leased super-giant AN-124s from Russia, is looking to buy and own 3 C-17s as NATO pooled assets with multinational crews. Participating countries will receive allocated flight hours relative to their participation, and thus far they include 12 nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States.

This order will not materially change the coming shut-down of C-17 production, but it does look like the inauguration of a pool that will fill a gaping hole in Europe’s defense capabilities – its complete lack of heavy airlift. This article covers NATO C-17 acquisition program, including its structure and ongoing announcements.

Program is now an adequate name, as NATO SAC has signed a contract, 2 of 3 aircraft have been delivered, and a SAC C-17 has completed its first operational mission to Afghanistan…

• The NATO C-17 Pool
• Contracts, Notifications & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Not anymore.
(click to view full)

Northrop Grumman’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) uses a powerful ground-looking Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mounted on a Boeing 707-300 airframe, in order to give American commanders outstanding battlefield surveillance and communications relay capabilities. The Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system aimed to create a similar capability as a pooled NATO asset, based on a mix of smaller Airbus A321 airframes and RQ-4B Gobal Hawk UAVs, coupled with ground stations. In the end, however, the program was slashed by deleting its manned aircraft and advanced radar entirely.

This will become DID’s FOCUS Article covering the AGS program, from its platforms to its program structure to its procurements. The most recent item is the signing of the AGS Programme Memorandum of Understanding (PMOU)...

• The Need for AGS
• NATO AGS: Program & History
• NATO AGS: Platforms & Technologies
• NATO AGS: Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

The Haskell Company in Jacksonville, FL won a $11.6 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and build a headquarters building for US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) at the Naval Support Activity in Norfolk, VA. The multi-story building will contain administrative areas, space for commercial food service vendors, open storage/secret, a sensitive compartmented information facility, conference rooms, data processing areas, storage areas, and an emergency generator.

The contract contains 3 unexercised options, which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $16.5 million. Haskell expects to complete construction by January 2011. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 13 proposals received by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, VA (N40085-09-C-5093).

USJFCOM is 1 of 10 US Department of Defense (DoD) combatant commands and has several roles in transforming the US military’s capabilities…

Continue Reading… »

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Suffolk, VA won an $18.2 million indefinite-quantity contract with cost reimbursement and fixed-price ordering provisions for analysis and assessment of command and control (C2) interoperability in support of the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (USJFCOM) Joint Systems Integration Center (JSIC). This contract includes a base year and 4 one-year option periods, which if exercised, bring the total estimated value of the contract to $101.9 million. General Dynamics will perform the work in Suffolk, VA and expects to complete it by June 2010. This contract was competitively procured, with 4 offers received by the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Division (N00189-09-D-Z050).

DID has more on the C2 interoperability work being done at the JSIC…

Continue Reading… »