Last updated: Monday Feb 18, 2019 - 05:00 UTC ()
Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: 2010-2018 Contracts
The C-130J: New Hercules & Old Bottlenecks
LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help
Rapid Fire | Monday, February 18, 2019, 05:00 UTC ()
GE Aviation to repair Super Hornet Generator Units | PAE Government Systems to support Afghan Security Forces | Poland signed a deal for HIMARS
Americas
The Navy tapped GE Aviation Systems LLC with $68.2 million for G2/G3 generator converter units repair for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. The F/A-18 is a twin engine, mid-wing, multi-mission tactical aircraft. All F/A-18s can be configured quickly to perform either fighter or attack roles or both, through selected use of external equipment to accomplish specific missions. GE Aviation designs, develops, and manufactures jet and turboprop engines, components, and integrated systems for military, commercial, business and general aviation aircraft, and ship propulsion applications. The current deal includes a three-year contract with one two-year option period which, if exercised, will rise the total value of the contract to $87,116,502. Seventy percent of the work will occur in Coronado, California, while the remaining 30 percent will take place in Vandalia, Ohio. Work is scheduled to be completed by February 2024.
Saab will supply the US Army with the latest version of the Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon. The Carl-Gustaf or M3E1 recoilless rifle is an 84 mm man-portable reusable anti-tank weapon. It can fire six rounds per minute. The new weapon is fully backwards compatible with all ammunition types, including future ones, and weighs significantly less than its M3 predecessor. The M4 reduces the launcher weight from 10 kg to less than 7 kg. The first weapon will be delivered this year at a cost of $19 million. In all, the Pentagon can place orders for approximately $40.8 million with the Swedish-based company.
Space and Missile Systems Center Remote Sending Systems Contracting Division contracted Tecolote Research $38.8 million to support acquisition and financial operations at the US Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. The deal provides the remote sensing systems directorate to execute integrated program management for a broad range of acquisition, financial, and administrative capabilities of space-related research, development, production, sustainment and lifecycle acquisition activities. The center is part of the Air Force Space Command and employs an estimated 6,300 people including military, civilians and contractors at Los Angeles Air Force Base and other locations worldwide. Work will take place in El Segundo, California and is scheduled to be completed by August 17, 2024.
Middle East & Africa
The US Army awarded PAE Government Systems with a $27.6 million contract modification for contractor logistics support efforts to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. The purpose of the fund is to provide assistance to the security forces of Afghanistan to include the provision of equipment, supplies, services, training, facility and infrastructure repair, renovation and construction, and funding. The United States has been training and equipping the Afghan military and security forces since 2001. PAE Government Services, Inc. provides professional engineering services. The Company offers military aircraft and vehicle maintenance, infrastructure, software solutions, logistics, and base support services. Work will take place in Hikia, Afghanistan and is expected to be finished by August 30, 2022.
Europe
Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group started work on the center-wing box (CWB) replacement effort for 14 UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Lockheed Martin C-130J/C-130J-30 Hercules, Jane’s reports. The Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The RAF fields both the short-bodied C-130J (designated C5 in RAF service) and long-bodied C-130J-30 (C4) variants of the Hercules. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. The CWB sits atop the aircraft’s main fuselage and forms the attachment point for the outer wings and the inboard engines.
The Polish Defense Minister, Marius Blaszczak signed a contract for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The deal worth $414 million approved the sale of 20 HIMARS launchers and related equipment. According to the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the sale of HIMARS launchers and related equipment to Poland aimed to strengthen security in the region. The system will be delivered by 2023. The first Polish HIMARS unit will be organized similarly to US Army HIMARS units.
Asia-Pacific
The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out an exercise involving about 140 fighter jets and attack helicopters in a fire power demonstration close to the border with Pakistan. The exercise came two days after the Pulwama attack, in which a vehicle-borne suicide bomber attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel. In the so called Vayu Shakti exercise, the IAF showcased fire power capability of indigenous platforms like Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Advanced Light Helicopter and efficacy of Akash surface-to-air missile and Astra air-to-air missile. The Vayu Shakti was planned in advance and the drill was a demonstration of the force’s capability to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy and carry out missions at short notice.
Today’s Video
Watch: In action: How smart the uk MQ-9 Reaper combat drone.
More In-depth Contract News & Updates
F-35 Lightning: The Joint Strike Fighter Program
| The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin with a 14.5 million contract modification to provide for initial lay-in of repair materials for seven F-35 Lightning II systems at various depots in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, non-US DOD participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine stealth multirole fighters. The global F-35 program is the largest and most advanced military aircraft program in the world. More than 3,000 F-35 aircraft will be produced by 2030 for a number of countries. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, the UK, and the US are the original partner countries in the F-35 program. Work under the modification will take place in Orlando, Florida; Fort Worth, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; Windsor Locks, Connecticut; St. Louis, Missouri; and East Aurora, New York, and is scheduled to be completed in July 2024. More »
US Navy on the T-AKE As It Beefs Up Supply Ship Capacity
| The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command contracted Detyens Shipyards $10.5 million for a 50-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry docking of USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12). Detyens Shipyards operates a commercial shipyard on the East Coast of the US. It provides ship repair and conversion services. The USNS William McLean is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship. The Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo ship is a class of 14 Combat Logistics Force underway replenishment vessels. Work under the contract includes clean and gas-free tanks, voids, cofferdams and spaces, main engine and electric motor maintenance, 10-year crane maintenance and recertification, dry-docking and undocking, propeller shaft and stern tube inspect, freshwater (closed loop) stern tube lubrication, underwater hull cleaning and painting, 2.5-year bow thruster maintenance and tunnel grating modification, renew flight deck nonskid, and auxiliary pre-stage area refrigeration installation. Work will take place in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be finished by July 16 this year. More »
India & Israel’s Barak-8 SAM Development Project(s)
| Defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is in talks with Colombia for the sale of Barak-8 missile systems. Barak-8 is an Indian-Israeli surface-to-air missile designed to defend against any aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as well as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat jets. Barak-8 incorporates a state-of-the-art phased array multi-mission radar, two-way data link, and a flexible command and control system, enabling users to simultaneously engage multiple targets day and night and in all weather conditions. The missile was tested for the first time in mid 2018 when it intercepted a small drone simulating an enemy craft. The system extends the range of Israel's aerial defense. It is being jointly developed by the Defense Research & Development Organisation, IAI, Israel's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, Elta Systems, Rafael and other companies. According to reports, one of the catalysts for Colombia’s interest in advanced air defense systems is the crisis in Venezuela. IAI did not want to comment on the issue. More »
APKWS II: Laser-Guided Hydra Rockets in Production At Last
| The USA provided the Lebanese Army with a $16 million APKWS laser-guided rocket kit. The APKWS is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions. The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System laser-guided rockets are a key component for the Lebanese Air Force’s new A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft. APKWS is about one-third the cost and one-third the weight of the current inventory of laser-guided weapons, has a lower yield more suitable for avoiding collateral damage, and takes one quarter of the time for ordnance personnel to load and unload. The A-29 Super Tucano is a turboprop light attack aircraft with weapons including precision-guided munitions. According to the US Embassy in Lebanon, the current delivery demonstrates the US government’s firm and steady commitment to support the Lebanon Army. More »
Submarines for Indonesia
| Indonesia and South Korea entered the final stages of negotiations for a follow-on order of the Type 209/1400 diesel-electric submarines, according to Jane’s. An agreement with South Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) is expected in the upcoming months. The contract is valued to be worth $1.2 billion when finalized. Jakarta signed a $1.1 billion deal for three Type 209/1400 submarines with DSME in December 2011. Two submarines under this contract have been delivered, while a third is awaiting launch in Surabaya. The Type 209 submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines armed with eight bow 533 mm torpedo tubes and 14 torpedoes. Ships utilized by South Korea can be armed with 28 mines in place of torpedoes and Sub-Harpoon missiles. More »
