$18.9M for US Navy Refrigeration Systems

York International Corp. in York, PA received an $18.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for engineering and technical services in support of various centrifugal air conditioning and refrigeration systems onboard various US Navy ships. Work will be performed in Norfolk, VA (60%); San Diego, CA (30%); and Groton, CT (10%), and is expected to be complete by August 2010. The contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Ship System Engineering Station in Philadelphia, PA (N65540-06-D-0021).

Tell It to the Marines: Think-Tanks on Maintenance Overhangs and Future Plans

The leftist Center for American Progress (CAP) and the Lexington Institute have put out an August 2006 publication called “Marine Corps Equipment After Iraq” [PDF] that looks at the effects of the war in Iraq on the US Marines’ readiness, equipment, and future procurement priorities. DID covered that subject a little while ago in terms of the US Marines’ own plans for its armor and its LAV fleet in particular, covered their forthcoming EFV program in-depth, and noted the maintenance overhang issue as well. This report puts many of these pieces together, and offers its views on the specific implications for the USMC.

EFV: Command variant

Readers may recall that DID’s coverage of the CAP’s “Progressive Quadrennial Defense Review” was (deservedly) unkind due to factual gaps and displays of a lack of expertise, but this report appears to have fewer difficulties along those lines. Of course, one may always decide to agree or disagree with their conclusions. The joint report [PDF] sets out to analyze:

$18.6M for Urban Combat Training Facility near San Diego, CA

Home, home on the range…

Solpac, Inc., DBA Soltek Pacific in San Diego, CA won $18.6 million for firm-fixed price Task Order 0003 under an indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract (N68711-03-D-7059). The monies will finance the design and construction of a combined arms military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) facility for the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA.

Buildings will be designed for military combat training, and are not intended for daily habitation. Specifications include…

DID Updates NETFIRES (NLOS-LS) Anchor Article

DID has updated its article covering the future NETFIRES NLOS-LS “missiles in a box” system, which will play both a land role in the US Army’s future Objective Force and a naval role as one of the key surface attack modules for the USA’s new Littoral Combat Ships. The basic concept of NETFIRES is to develop a family of low cost artillery-like precision attack missiles based upon a vertical launcher design that can be transported anywhere by Hummer, carried in by helicopter, or even dropped off without a vehicle – and fired remotely as needed by soldiers on the ground. Yet the combat implications go far beyond that simple description. The system cannot replace conventional artillery as a cost-effective way of delivering heavy supporting fire; nevertheless, NETFIRES may end up as one of the USA’s most transformational new systems.

Our NETFIRES anchor article adds a $54 million order connected with the system’s naval uses, while detailing the 2 missiles and other systems that make up NETFIRES and explaining how it works.

$200M for Construction & Renovation in the Hampton Roads Area

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, VA has awarded a set of 8(a) design/build multiple award construction contracts for construction, renovation, alteration, design, and repairs of Government facilities in the Hampton Roads Area of Virginia and North Carolina. Work will take place in in the Hampton Roads area of VA (85%) including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Yorktown, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and in NC (15%), including Jacksonville and Cherry Point. Work is expected to be completed August 2007 (August 2011 with options). This contract was competitively procured with 90 proposals solicited and 12 offers received.

The contracts have a one year base period with up to four years in options, and each winner will compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The maximum award for each contractor in the base period is $8 million, with a guaranteed minimum of $5,000. Overall, the not to exceed amount for each contractor during the entire term is $40 million, bringing the total potential for all contracts to $200 million. All firms were small business qualifiers, and the winners included:

• Chesapeake Contractors, JV LLC in Williamsburg, VA (N40085-06-D-6005)
  
• York River Electric in Yorktown, VA (N40085-06-D-6006)
  
• Bay Electric Corp. in Newport News, VA (N40085-06-D-6007)
  
• THR Enterprises, Inc. in Norfolk, VA (N40085-06-D-6008)
  
• Arriba Corp. in Norfolk, VA (N40085-06-D-6009)
  

$5.1M for 60 Diver Propulsion Devices to the US Marines

DPD and divers

STIDD Systems in Greenport, NY received a $5.1 million modification to previously awarded contract M67854-05-F-1039 for 60 Diver Propulsion Devices (DPD), DPD battery chargers, shipping containers, and the extended range option. Work will be performed in Greenport, NY, and is expected to be complete by November 2006. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico Va., is the contracting activity.

Plasan Sasa Gets IDF Body Armor Order

Note innovative shields, too

Body armor and vehicle armor maker Plasan Sasa, of Kibbutz Sasa in the western Galilee, Israel announced that it won a contract for the provision of personal body armor vests made of lightweight composite materials to the Israeli Defense Forces. Under the NIS 8 million (about $2 million) contract, the company will supply thousands of vests to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007.

This Globes article also points out that Plasan also won a previous IDF tender worth NIS 10 million in June 2006 for the supply of 2,000 ergonomic personal protection vests.

ITAR Announcements: Venezuela, Libya

DID has covered the USA’s ITAR restrictions on weapons exports before, especially as applied to countries like Iran and Venezuela. Our article concerning the blocked upgrade of that country’s F-16s noted that spare parts deliveries were continuing, but that appears to have just changed. Venezuela has better hope those SU-30s arrive quickly. Meanwhile, Libya illustrates a different dynamic – a country whose cooperation is slowly edging them out of the restricted zone. But not yet.

We’ll begin with the US Department of State’s August 2 missive RE: Venezuela, which reads (and translates) as follows:

German-Israeli Dolphin AIP Sub Contract Signed

SSK Dolphin Class

On Aug 22/06, The Jerusalem Post reported a formal contract signing for 2 SSK Dolphin Class diesel-electric submarines from HDW’s shipyard in Kiel, Germany. EADS is also a player in the deal following its acquisition of Atlas Elektronik. Unlike their 3 predecessors, these submarines would incorporate an AIP(Air Independent Propulsion) system in order to allow them to spend far more time submerged; most likely HDW’s system used on the U-212 Class.

ELROB 2006: German Military Sponsors Eurobots Event

Wiesel DOV: air-portable
UGV carrier/ controller
(click to view larger)

America’s rapid development and fielding of land robots, as well as the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, are inspiring serious interest across the Atlantic. A Rheinmetall news release touting its multiple entries led us to the European Land Robots Exhibition (ELROB) 2006 site. The event had been held in May 15-18, 2006 in Hammelburg, Germany by the German Armed Forces. It was designed to provide an overview of the European state-of-the-art in the field of UGVs, UGV carriers, self-driving vehicles, et. al., and included a number of entries from commercial firms and universities including QinetiQ’s battle-proven TALON.