Atlantic CommTech Corp. in Virginia Beach, VA received a $12 million firm-fixed-price contract. They’ll provide interior intrusion detection systems for protective aircraft shelters, and redundant cable, for the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing. Atlantic CommTech will be performing 100% of the work throughout 6 NATO installations in Europe. This is not surprising. Back in February 2008, “The Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures” raised concerns about security practices at nuclear-capable facilities in Europe, and recommended a number of steps to improve the situation. Meanwhile, European countries’ waning desire to even host such weapons has become a subject of high-level debate among NATO members.

The 498th Nuclear Systems Wing is part of USAF Materiel Command, and handles nuclear maintenance projects, programs, & systems integration, advocacy, and oversight. The wing’s groups and divisions include the 498th Missile Sustainment Division based at Tinker AFB, OK, the 498th Nuclear Systems Division at Kirtland AFB, NM; the 498th Munitions Maintenance Group at Whiteman AFB, MO, and the 798th Munitions Maintenance Group at Minot AFB, ND. The USAF Nuclear Weapons Center/PKE at Kirtland AFB, NM, manages the contract (FA9422-12-F-0001).

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in McLean, VA recently won a $9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for an unusual effort:

”...research in the detection of insider threats based on sensor data from routine activities of members of a group, and possibly social networks.”

Call it the WikiCaulking contract. Work will be performed in McLean, VA; Amherst, MA; Corvallis, OR; Pittsburgh, PA; and Atlanta, GA, with an estimated completion date of May 31/13. Bids were solicited through a broad agency announcement, with 7 bids received by U.S. Army Contracting Command in Durham, NC (W911NF-11-C-0088).

• Russia to invest $2.6 billion in ballistic missile systems with the goal of doubling production from 2013, says Prime Minister Putin.

• Aviation Week offers an overview of Russia’s planned military helicopter buys over the next few years, and notes an issue with Brazil’s November 2008 attack helicopter buy of Mi-35Ms.

• With the DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers ended at just 3 ships, BAE is proposing a 155mm “AGS-Lite” turret swap for their 5”/62 caliber Mk.45 MOD4 gun that now equips DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyers. It has no stealth, half the weight of the AGS turret, and less rocket-boosted, GPS-guided 155mm LRLAP ammunition in the magazine. It is offered as an option if the US Navy wants to begin reversing their huge decline in naval fire support capabilities. Meanwhile, Finmeccanica’s Oto Melara offers “Vulcano” [PDF] ultra-long range 127mm/54 caliber rounds with IIR or GPS guidance, compatibility with older 5”/54 caliber Mk.45 MOD2s on ships under DDG 80, and a parent firm subsidiary in the USA’s DRS.

• UK MoD shakes up management at its Defense Equipment and Support organization.

• Ukraine to field Stugna-P laser-guided anti-tank missile systems capable of destroying low-altitude aerial targets as well.

• Pentagon posts documents detailing security measures for a new annex building online.

• Northrop Grumman snags $99 million USAF contract to perform base security operations at overseas US air bases, and a $77.9 million US Army contract to development software for air and missile defense workstations.

• Up to $189.4 million to Booz Allen Hamilton to provide cyberspace technology integration for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific.

• Virtual Corp. gets $49 million contract from DoD to provide disaster recovery software and services.

• Bell Helicopter flies its privately-developed “OH-58 Block II”, a testbed for technologies that could go into their Armed Aerial Scout competition entry – or circumvent AAS entirely via the Army’s proposed “OH-58F” reset & upgrade program.

• DCNS mates the fore and aft halves of its 1st Gowind Offshore Patrol Vessel, finishing the hull. The OPV is being built under a private development contract, followed by a service agreement with the French Navy for 3 years of operations. The goal? Endorsement and operational success, to boost export sales for the scalable OPV/ Corvette family.

• Booz & Co.’s strategy + business magazine on “Crafting Best-in-Class Business Intelligence.”

From TIC to IRIS at DARPA. (Feb 15/11)

The May 2008 IEEE spectrum magazine, in “The Hunt for the Kill Switch”:

“Feeding those dreams is the Pentagon’s realization that it no longer controls who manufactures the components that go into its increasingly complex systems. A single plane like the DOD’s next generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, can contain an “insane number” of chips, says one semiconductor expert familiar with that aircraft’s design. Estimates from other sources put the total at several hundred to more than a thousand. And tracing a part back to its source is not always straightforward. The dwindling of domestic chip and electronics manufacturing in the United States, combined with the phenomenal growth of suppliers in countries like China, has only deepened the U.S. military’s concern.”

M24 sniper system

Snipers have become critical assets in the current wars, and enemies who routinely use human shields have changed their profession from a group that was stigmatized even in their own armies, to widely appreciated specialists. In Afghanistan, the rifles’ 7.62mm or heavier calibers, and long range in an environment that routinely sees engagements beyond 300 meters, makes snipers very desirable in regular engagements, as well as special missions.

Remington Arms Company Inc. in Ilion, NY recently received an $8.9 million firm-fixed-price contract from the Afghan government for M24 sniper rifles (and see weapon review), with bipods for stable shooting. Work will be performed in Ilion, NY, and is expected to be complete by Sept 30/14. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army TACOM LCMC in Rock Island, IL (W56HZV-11-D-0049).

Sniper rifles are tracked more closely than other weapons, and American forces in Iraq and beyond have consistently pushed for general weapon tracking programs that allow tight monitoring of access and use. One hopes this is enough to avoid having this order end up as a de facto delivery to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, for use in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

F-35A: incoming…

Precise figures for new F-35 production schedule; Australia & Norway react; Kongsberg subcontract. (Jan 7/11)

The $382 billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter program may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing for the US Marines, British Royal Navy, et. al.; and the F-35C conventional carrier-launched version for the US Navy. The aircraft is named after Lockheed’s famous WW2 P-38 Lightning, and the Mach 2, stacked-engine English Electric (now BAE) Lightning jet. Lightning II system development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3), with Singapore and Israel as “Security Cooperation Partners.” Now the challenge is agreeing on production phase membership and arrangements, to be followed by initial purchase commitments in 2009-2010.

This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the F-35 program, including contracts, sub-contracts, and notable events and reports. Recent events and major programs shifts have been added to this article, in order to ensure maximum continuity and context, but a 2011-2012 article will come to the fore soon.

• The F-35 Family of Aircraft
• F-35 Program: Production Timelines & Structure [updated]
• F-35 Program: Controversies and Competitions
• F-35 Program: Events & Developments, CY 2009-2010 [updated]
• F-35 Program: System Development & Production Contracts, FY 2009-2010
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts, FY 2009 – 2010 [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  Continue Reading… »

• Octoberfast: Germany joins in European defense budget belt tightening.

• You say yes, I say no: Russia warms to idea of NATO missile defense shield, while South Korea says “no” to joint missile defense with US.

• Countering Counter-cyclical: Forbes article questions view that defense demand is counter-cyclical to the commercial business cycle.

• Lockheed Martin board approves $3 billion share buyback program.

• Honeywell wins 3 contracts worth up to $233 million to supply logistics support services to the US Army Field Support Brigades; other winners are Sentel, up to $98 million; ManTech, up to $62 million; and Stanley Associates, up to $7 million.

• Up to $23 million to SAIC to provide biometrics support to the US DoD’s Biometrics Identity Management Agency.

• Sherpa Ascent: A C-23 Sherpa light military transport aircraft, used by the US Army at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, is getting a major overhaul.

• Goodrich gets GPB 7 million UK MoD contract to supply logistics for a range of RAF jets and helicopters.

• US universities weigh in on the direction of, and trends in, US defense research as it applies to them.

• Packing Aid: The US is expected to offer Pakistan $2 billion in military aid during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit this week.

• No Tweet Zone: Israel is banning the use of social media sites while soldiers are on base to reduce security leaks.

• HawkerBeechcraft AT-6C light attack turboprop aircraft finish Operational Assessment testing with USAF and Air National Guard pilots at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. See also corporate release [PDF]. Meanwhile, the corresponding LAAR program’s status remains very uncertain.

• Up to $249 million to Raytheon to remanufacture, overhaul, and repair equipment for the USMC Logistics Command.

• ATK gets $67 million contract to supply AAR-47 Missile Warning System weapon replaceable assemblies – which include optical sensors, control indicators, and computer processors – for helicopters and transport aircraft.

• Blissed Out: People in the US military are more satisfied at work than their private sector counterparts.

• US DoD report on Fort Hood shootings [PDF] recommends “scientific” behavioral screening for violence, standardized religious accommodation processes, improved commander guidelines and training, better commander access to personal health records and intelligence information, and better military installation emergency response systems. Plus more scrutiny of foreign national employees (though the shooter was a lifetime American citizen). In short, lots of dancing around the main issue, though the future review of DoDI 1325.06 might change that.

• 3 Honeywell GPS-III satellite components pass Critical Design Reviews.

• US military to offer higher pay for doctors, dentists as it strives to recruit.

• Northrop Grumman supplying improved electronics for Saudi E-3A and French E-3F AWACS upgrades.

• Boeing setting up its first manufacturing facility in Illinois; the firm is headquartered in Chicago.

• Israel defense minister names Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, head of the Southern Command, to head the Israel Defense Forces.

• Iran unveils locally built Karrar UAV, plans to “export military equipment to 50 countries.” Grains of salt required; they have become infamous for fantastic, blowhard weapon claims in recent years.

• So Rooonery: Kim Jong-il wants to be your Facebook friend!

• Northrop Grumman gets $42.4 million US Navy contract to provide engineering and technical support services for submarines and surface ships.

• Show Me the Money: Boeing is offering to buy Argon ST, a Fairfax, VA-based supplier of military C4ISR systems, for $34.50 per share, or $775 million, in an all-cash deal.

• In other news, Boeing averted a strike in St. Louis when workers voted to approve a new package, against their union’s recommendation. It also hailed the public release of a WTO ruling on Airbus subsidies, which will be a lobbying point in the $30+ billion KC-X competition. The WTO also has a case involving Boeing, but it hasn’t ruled on that one yet.

• FBI arrests 10 Russian intelligence agents.

• In the Black: CACI, an Arlington, VA-based defense consulting firm, projects its net income for FY 2011 will jump 10% to 15% based on expected growth in C4ISR work and unveils plans for a $50 million stock buyback.

• Spaced Out: Military use of space gets short shrift in new US space policy [pdf] released by the Obama administration.

• Experimental TacSat-3 and its ARTEMIS hyperspectral surveillance sensors no longer an experiment. USAF taking first steps toward “operationally responsive space.”

• Blowin’ in the Wind: The US DoD may try to delay construction of some wind-farm projects in the United States due to concern that the turbines could disrupt military radar systems.

• Northern Exposure: South Korean military is pushing for a 6.9% increase in the country’s defense budget in response to rising tensions with the North.