Slimmer and Trimmer
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General Dynamics C4 Systems received a contract, worth up to $50 million, to supply the US Army with engineering and logistics-support services for the Land Warrior [pdf] integrated modular fighting systems.

A couple of years ago, it looked like the Land Warrior program was dead due to soldiers’ concerns that the equipment was too heavy and complex. However, after trimming down the system from 17 pounds to 7.2 pounds, the Army is moving ahead with the program. “Infantry-21: Land Warrior’s Reviews – And Resurrection?” has more on the controversy.

The new contract enables General Dynamics’ field service engineers to deploy with all Land Warrior-equipped units and provide support for housing, repairing and shipping spare and replacement Land Warrior gear worldwide…

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Galileo concept
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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 2013-14 – 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 faces issues, as does the expected launch timetable. Recent events may even lead to a smaller Galileo constellation…

• 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
  
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Egyptian Air Force F-16D
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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 request, made Oct 9/09 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…

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Harris Technical Services in Colorado Springs, CO received a $10 million contract modification for operations, maintenance, and logistics support to the US Air Force Space Command’s 50th Space Wing. At this time the entire amount has been obligated. 50 CONS/LGCZW at Schriever Air Force Base in California manages the contract (FA2550-08-C-8011, P00032).

The 50th Space Wing is responsible for the operations and support of more than 170 US military satellites…

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BAE Systems National Security Solutions in Burlington, MA received a $7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide support to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Urban Reasoning and Geospatial Exploitation Technology (URGENT) Phase II Program. The purpose of the URGENT program is to improve the quality and timeliness of geospatial intelligence about threats in urban environments to assist US troops in conducting urban warfare.

BAE will perform the work in Burlington, MA (93%) and Los Angeles, CA (7%) with an estimated completion date of May 15/11. Bids were solicited on the Web with 1 bid received by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, VA (HR0011-09-C-0101).

Under the contract, BAE is developing a design concept that promises to speed the collection and processing of geospatial data about urban environments and deliver them to US troops on the ground for mission planning, navigation, and targeting. BAE will do this by fusing different intel systems…

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Wyle Information Systems in McLean, VA received a $13.9 million indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract modification to provide technical services and space operations support to the Space Innovation and Development Center located at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

The contract is directed toward examining, assessing, and developing the means to integrate national system and US DoD space systems support to enhance combat and research and development capabilities within the US Air Force. This includes integrating existing and advanced-technology weapons, platforms and special test facilities as well as the technical expertise such as knowledge of emerging space-based technologies and systems.

Space Innovation and Development Center at Schriever Air Force Base manages the contract (FA2550-01-D-0003, P00026). The center’s mission is to advance warfare through rapid innovation, integration, training testing, and experimentation…

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DAGR GPS Receiver
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Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, IA received a $20.2 million contract modification to provide 81,622 DAGR hand-held GPS receivers and accessories to the US Air Force GPS Wing (GPSW/PK) in El Segundo, CA.

This contract modification is part of a $450 million DAGR follow-on contract (FA8807-09-C-0002) announced March 18/09 by Rockwell Collins. The company received its first order from the USAF under the contract that same month: 53,920 DAGR receivers and accessories for $87.5 million.

The DAGR is a handheld GPS receiver that provides position, navigation and situational awareness for US troops…

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GPS IIIA concept
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DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. It’s hard to be more significant than the USA’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which is widely relied upon for civilian uses, including timing services for stock trades and credit card processing. At the same time, military class (M-code) GPS guidance can now be found in everything from cruise missiles and various precision-guided bombs, to battlefield rockets and even artillery shells. Combat search and rescue radios use it, and so does a broadening array of individual soldier’s equipment. Disruption or decay of of the the critical capabilities provided by this line of communication in space would cripple both the US military, and many aspects of the global economy.

GPS-III satellites are a key part of this PTN (Positioning, Timing & Navigation) system’s future plan, offering several improvements over the existing GPS II family. When fully deployed, the current vision for GPS-III is that the new satellites will feature a new L1C civil signal; a cross-linked command and control architecture that allows the entire GPS constellation to be updated from a single ground station; and a spot beam antenna that provides resistance to hostile military jamming while improving accuracy and integrity. GPS III will also have limited interoperability with Europe’s ongoing Galileo GPS-type satellite constellation, per a 2006 agreement involving Lockheed Martin and EADS.

The latest additions include significantly upgraded background and contract information, GAO worries about the USAF’s ability to sustain its GPS capabilities if GPS IIF and IIIA encounter delays, and possible congressional funding cuts for GPS-III’s critical next-generation ground control segment…

• The Existing Array [NEW]
• The GPS III Program [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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GPS IIF satellite
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In July 2008, the Pentagon announced that Boeing’s Huntington Beach, CA facility would work on a “High Integrity GPS (Global Positioning System) Technology Concept demonstration,” under a $150+ million contract that runs until January 2011.

The European Space Agency has a similar program called EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), which is the ESA’s interim step until its competing Galileo GPS constellation can be built and deployed. EGNOS uses 3 satellites in geostationary orbit, correlating their information with GPS to improve civilian positioning accuracy from 15 meters to 2 meters. In contrast, the USA’s Office of Naval Research contract aims to leverage an existing commercial constellation: the low-bandwidth Iridium constellation of satellites. If their R&D project succeeds, it will create a GPS service that provides quicker positioning fixes, offers improved accuracy for military M-code users, and is more resistant to jamming and other forms of damage.

What is Iridium? Why is this such an important contract? How does a global satellite phone service end up improving the Global Positioning System? Could this program have important commercial spin-offs? DID offers answers, below…

• The Rise and Folly of Iridium
• HI-GPS: A Starring Role in A Different Global Vision?
• HI-GPS: Theory and Practice
• Contracts and Key Events [NEW]
• Additional Readings covering Iridium, GPS, and related developments [updated]
  
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PLGR & DAGR
(DAGR is on the right)
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Out in the field, one of the most important questions is also one of the simplest: where am I?

Map-reading and orienteering remain critical soldiering skills, but the explosive growth of the GPS receiver market offers modern-day soldiers – and their opponents – new options. GPS has a military channel as well, of course, offering greater precision. These military-grade GPS receivers are becoming common among American units and their allies, often operating alongside civilian units from firms like Garmin that can include in-country roadmaps for front-line zones. Then again, you probably wouldn’t want to offer nearby airstrike coordinates based on a civilian unit if there was any choice in the matter.

Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) will serve as a smaller, lighter, replacement for the Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR). Their electronics can be integrated into tanks, UAV drones, et. al., or serve as standalone handheld systems for both advanced and basic military GPS users. Authorized Department of Defense (DoD) and foreign military sales (FMS) customers receive a hand-held Precise Positioning System (PPS) with a dual-frequency (L1/L2) receiver that weighs less than a pound, and incorporates the nest generation, tamper-resistant GPS “SAASM” (Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module) anti-jamming and security module.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the DAGR GPS program, which is international in scope and has just hit the 300,000 unit milestone, and added another significant order…

• The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver
• DAGR: Contracts & Key Events [updates]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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