$94.7M to Orbital Sciences for US Naval Spacecraft, Airborne System R&D

Orbital Sciences Corp. in Greenbelt, MD received a $94.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort contract from the US Naval Research Laboratory for spacecraft and airborne systems research analysis and prototype development.

The work includes the analysis, design, development, test, operation demonstration, and transition of these prototype systems and subsystems.

The scope of the research efforts Orbital will carry out entails multi-disciplinary approaches to discovering and applying new knowledge and technologies to designing, building, and operating of airborne, space and other technology systems.

Northrop Grumman’s Move to Washington

A capital idea?

On Jan 4/10, Northrop Grumman Corp. announced that it would be moving its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles, CA to the Washington, DC area. The new corporate office will include approximately 300 people, and the firm plans to complete its location search by spring 2010, and open the new corporate office by summer 2011.

In response, the Washington Post’s Steve Pearlstein pens “When aerospace is under Washington’s wing,” which sees the move in a surprisingly negative light.

Rapid Fire 2010-04-27: AWACS for Pakistan

• Argentina signs deal to buy 2 Mi-171E transport helicopters from Russia for $30 million.

• Iran ramps up Persian Gulf exercises with test of 5 new shore-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles – as China opens an Iranian factory for C-704 anti-ship missiles.

• Pakistan receives its 2nd Saab-2000 Erieye AWACS aircraft, from a 4-plane deal.

$768M More in US DESC Aviation Fuel Contracts

April is not the cruelest month for companies that sell aviation fuel to the US military. Six more firms have secured up to $768.6 million in new aviation fuel contracts from the US Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) in Fort Belvoir, VA.

These contracts are on top of $1.24 billion in aviation fuel contracts awarded on April 23/10.

They are 12 month fixed price with economic price adjustment indefinite-delivery/ indefinite quantity contracts for aviation fuel for delivery in the USA.

The winners are:

Harris to Supply Digital Maps and Computers for US Military Aircraft

Harris Corp.’s Government Communications Systems Division in Melbourne, FL received a $6.2 million firm-fixed-priced indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for the full rate production and support of 63 tactical aircraft moving map capability digital map computers (TAMMAC DMC), 47 digital video map computers, and 41 extension housings in support of multiple aircraft platforms.

The TAMMAC DMC provides the pilot with a graphical representation of the aircraft’s present position and the relative positions of targets, threats, terrain features, planned mission flight path, no fly zones, safe bases, and other objects.

The map presents contour lines, slope shading, dynamic elevation banding, threat inter-visibility, cultural features, variable scaling, and overlays…

All Together Now: Integrating the US Army’s Disparate Air and Missile Defenses

Army IBCS Concept
(click to enlarge)

Interim design review for IBCS completed. (April 26/10)

The US Army awarded a Northrop Grumman-led team a $577 million, 5-year, cost-plus-incentive-fee/ cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS).

Northrop Grumman beat out a team led by Raytheon. The two teams competed in the preliminary design phase of the program.

IBCS is intended to transform the Army’s disparate air and missile defense systems — each with independent sensing, command-and-control and launching capabilities — into an integrated defense capability. The system will enable the Army to manages all of its air and missile defense systems from 1 command-and-control center.

Northrop Grumman’s winning IBCS design is based on a non-proprietary, open architecture approach…

Rapid Fire 2010-04-26: Boeing X-37B First Flight

• South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young reportedly says “the bubble jet effect caused by a heavy torpedo is the most likely cause” of the ROKS Cheonan’s sinking, as the ship is raised from the bottom.

• Lexington Institute: Could low rocket motor orders undermine America’s next set of spy satellites?

• Following its launch on Friday aboard an Atlas V rocket, Boeing’s X-37B unmanned spaceplane begins its first flight.

$1.24B in US DESC Aviation Fuel Contracts

Fill ‘Er Up

Despite the “going green” trend of the US military, there continues to be a huge demand for good, old-fashioned fuel.

To feed that need for fuel, on April 23/10 the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) in Ft Belvoir, VA, awarded up to $1.24 billion in aviation fuel contracts to 7 firms.

These are 12 month fixed price with economic price adjustment indefinite-delivery/ indefinite quantity contracts for aviation fuel for delivery in the USA.

The winners are:

Austria Upgrading its AB212 Helicopters

Austrian AB212

Austria’s mountainous terrain makes helicopters very important to its military, which operates a handful of S-70 Black Hawks, plus an aging fleet of AB212 Hueys that were license-built in Italy, and even older French Alouette-III machines.

Austria intends to keep its fleet of 23 Hueys at Linz-Hörsching operational for another 25 year. To that end it has placed a EUR 63 million (currently about $84.3 million) contract with Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland to modify the helicopters with new avionics systems, and improved night vision and defensive capabilities. The fleet has accumulated about 115,000 flight hours to date, and the goal is another 100,000 flight hours for the fleet.

The modernization will begin in June 2010, and will be complete in 2014, with a maximum of 6 machines out of service for refurbishment at any given time. AgustaWestland has agreed to industrial offset work in Austria worth 50% of the contract’s value over 10 years. Austrian Bundesheer [in German]

Qatar Buys Exocet MM40 Bock 3s for its Fast Attack Craft

Exocet MM40 Block 3

The Emirate of Qatar sits in the middle of the Persian Gulf, a shallow and narrow body of water that lends itself to fast, small, missile armed ships and boats. Qatar’s Navy relies on 7 French and British 400t-500t Fast Attack Craft, and MBDA’s Exocet missile is their anti-ship weapon of choice. MBDA has just announced that the Qatar Emiri Navy’s 4 Vosper Thorneycroft Vita Class FACs will now be equipped with the new Exocet MM40 Block 3 missiles, under a recent batch buy.

The Block 3 replaces rocket fuel with turbojet propulsion, extending the missile’s range; and adds GPS-like targeting. That kind of geographic targeting is especially useful in cluttered near-shore zones, minimizing the odds of false lock-ons before the missile gets close to its target. The first operational firing of the MM40 Block 3 from a naval warship took place in France on March 18/10, from the Horizon Class advanced air defense frigate Chevalier Paul. MBDA release | French DGA re: test [in French].