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DID has covered the V/STOL(Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) AV-8B Harrier II’s improvement of its flying record, and the discovery of its niche among the rough airfields of Afghanistan and the urban warfare scenarios of Iraq. A pair of ongoing maintenance and avionics and weapons upgrade initiatives provide a window into the efforts that are making the modernized Harrier an effective weapon on the Global War on Terror’s battlefields.
Boeing subsidiary and original AV-8B manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Corp. received a not to exceed $10.2 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus fixed-fee contract for AV-8B Harrier II post production support. Services include engineering analysis, testing, suitability evaluations, effectiveness evaluations, configuration management support, and resolving reliability, availability, and/or supportability problems. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in November 2006. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Air Systems Command (N00019-06-D-0007).
Smiths Aerospace Inc., Electronic Systems in Grand Rapids, MI received a $9.8 million firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously awarded requirements contract (N00019-04-D-0080) for the procurement of 52 AV-8B Warfare Mission Computers. Work will be performed in Grand Rapids, MI and is expected to be complete in January 2008. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
Dec 22/05: Adds a $12.9 million firm-fixed-price delivery order for 67 AV-8B Warfare Management Computers.