Rapid Fire 10-31-11: SMDC’s D3I | SOCOM GMV 1.1 | USS California
- Lockheed Martin and Raytheon plan to compete with incumbent BAE for the US Army’s Design, Development, Demonstration & Integration (D3I) space and missile defense program. The D3I RFP should be released soon, meanwhile the Concepts and Operations for Space and Missile Defense Integration Capabilities (COSMIC) contracts awarded in 2006 to BAE and Quantum Research International have been extended until September 2012. D3I may eventually amount to more than $5B spread among several vendors. Part of the delay is explained by the merger of D3I and Army SMD Technology, Experimentation, Research, Operations, Implementation, and Development (ASTEROID). D3I will be open to other services and agencies beside the Army.
- The sources sought page for the Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) 1.1 requirement has been amended with Q&As several times in October, including today. CCR validation required to read the updates. Today’s GMVs are Humvees that are more rugged than usual for use by special forces. A known contender is the GD OTS/Flyer Defense’s Flyer. The final RFP has been delayed a bit and is expected within a few months, with production planned to start in FY14 with an eventual FRP of about 200 vehicles a year, according to a presentation [PDF] made earlier this year by Michael Ellis, Deputy Program Manager, Family of Special Operations Vehicles (FoSOV).
- Another competition that’s busy at the pre-RFP stage is the pre-solicitation for the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS). LTC Thomas Ryan, Product Manager Crew Served Weapons, says more than 50 companies attended the pre-solicitation conference earlier this month.
- With the commissioning of PCU California (SSN 781), the 8th VA-class submarine, the class now amounts to 15% of the US attack submarine force. US Navy | story behind the ship’s logo | Bubblehead blog.
- US Air Force Maj. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr. has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and now heads the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Hawkins comes back to DISA where he was a vice director until last July. He was for less than 4 months the Deputy Director Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4), Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
- The US Army’s move to enterprise email continues and reaches Fort Rucker, AL this week. Note that people affected by the migration will have a new email address, though their current address should continue to work for a while.
- Martin Wright, chief executive of the Northwest Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) in England tells its members they should refocus on civilian projects.
- Australian minehunter HMAS Gascoyne found a wreck of what the Royal Australian Navy thinks is a WWII Japanese submarine. More underwater imagery here.
- Video below of Boston Dynamics’ PETMAN anthropomorphic robot showing a rather good sense of balance (see also Boston Globe coverage):
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