Rapid Fire 2011-02-23: SITE, NETCENTS

• Electromagnetic pulse gun developed by Swiss research institute EPFL could be used to explode IEDs remotely.

• Looks like Brazil won’t be buying any new fighters in 2011.

• Belgium’s defense spending is expected to grow at a modest 1.76% per year, reaching $3.7 billion by 2015. Also, the Wallonia regional government comes under fire for approving FN Herstal’s sale of EUR 6.9 million worth of rifles, machine guns and ammunition to Libya.

• US Drug Enforcement Agency sting nails a Taliban-linked drug and weapon smuggling ring, whose price list reportedly included Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-armor missiles.

• Defense Intelligence Agency awards 2 task orders worth $350 million to BAE Systems for IT support under the agency’s $6.6 billion SITE contract vehicle.

• Telos said it received $265 million worth of IT task orders for FY 2010 under the $9 billion NETCENTS contract.

• Alcatel-Lucent’s LGS subsidiary receives a $22.2 million Army delivery order to upgrade the communications infrastructure at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

• CACI snags $44 million in task orders to support the DoD’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) under its $494 million JIEDDO Comprehensive Support Services (CSS) contract.

• Aura gets order to provide power systems for the USCG’s Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) vessel, part of a contract awarded to Manitowoc Marine Group to provide 250 RB-M boats for $600 million.

• Thailand receives its 1st set of 6 JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters.

• Afghanistan’s 10th upgraded C-27A light transport plane lands in Kabul.

• Embraer unveils the 1st modified EMB-145 AEW&C airframe for use by the Indian DRDO in its indigenous Tier 2 AEW&C program.

• Israeli/American Arrow system test successfully intercepts ballistic missile.

Israel’s Arrow Theater Missile Defense

Arrow test concept

In a dawning age of rogue states, ballistic missile defenses are steadily become a widely accepted necessity. Iran is widely believed to be developing nuclear capabilities, and Israeli concerns were heightened after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged that Israel be “wiped off the map” (the fact that America was also placed in that category went largely uncovered).

Because missile defenses are so important, states like India and Israel have taken steps to ensure that they have the ability to build many of the key pieces. The Arrow project is a collaboration between Boeing and IAI to produce the missile interceptors that accompany the required radars, satellites, command and control systems.

NOTE: Article capped and coverage suspended in 2011.

Canadian Forces Seek to Build Excellence in Foreign Flight Training

In 2005, the Canadian Department of National Defence awarded a 22-year, $1.77-billion (USD $1.5 billion) contract to an “Allied Wings” team lead by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. of Kelowna, British Columbia, who beat out a competing group led by Bombardier’s military training division in Mirabel, Quebec. The long-term contract will provide primary flight training training and support services to the Canadian Forces and international allies. These services will be provided out of the “Canada Wings Aviation Training Centre” in the Southport Aerospace Centre near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

This is not the first time the Canadian government has chosen a public/private approach to aviation training. Bombardier was already managing the Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program, and the public-private NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program has been running since 1997. In some ways, however, the new “Allied Wings” contract was a logical next step aimed at solidifying Canada’s traditional advantages, as Canada attempts to make itself an international center of excellence for foreign military aviator training:

• NATO Flying Training in Canada
  
• Primary Training: Competition for CFTS [updated]
  
• The Big Picture: International Flight Training in Canada [updated]
  
• Contracts & Key Events [NEW]
  
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]