Americas
Boeing won a $14 million delivery order for spare items in support of the Flight Control Surfaces utilized on the F/A-18 aircraft. The F/A-18 Hornet is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. It fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The aircraft has a digital control-by-wire flight control system which provides excellent handling qualities, and allows pilots to learn to fly the airplane with relative ease. At the same time, this system provides exceptional maneuverability and allows the pilot to concentrate on operating the weapons system. A solid thrust-to-weight ratio and superior turn characteristics combined with energy sustainability, enable the F/A-18 to hold its own against any adversary. Boeing will perform work in Missouri. Estimated completion date is May 30, 2022.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.9 million contract to support the Operational Fires Integrated Weapon System Phase 3 program, which will enable capabilities for a mobile, ground-launched tactical weapon delivery system capable of carrying a variety of payloads to a variety of ranges. OpFires, a joint DARPA/US Army program, aims to develop and demonstrate a novel ground-launched missile system equipped with hypersonic tactical boost glide vehicles that can penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly and precisely engage critical time sensitive targets in contested environments. The first two phases of the program focus on the propulsion technologies required to deliver diverse payloads a variety of ranges. Lockheed will perform work in Texas, Alabama, Ohio, West Virginia, Washington and Arkansas. Expected completion date is January 2021.
Middle East & Africa
Advanced Electronics Co. won a $17 million contract modification for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) F-15SA Cyber Protection System (CPS) and Related Facilities program. This modification provides for three years of in-Kingdom Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) for the CPS. The scope of this contract effort will include the extension of existing CLS support for three additional years, as well as related mobilization, de-mobilization, transportation and housing expenses for CLS personnel. The contract is a foreign military sales acquisition through the US and Saudi Arabia, authorized in 2015 as part of an agreement that also authorized the sale and upgrade of several F-15 variant aircraft to the kingdom. Advanced Electronics is a Riyadh-based electronics research and manufacturing firm, specialized in advanced electronics research for defense and communication. It was established in 1988 under the directives of the government of Saudi Arabia. The company will perform work at RSAF facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Expected completion date is May 31, 2022.
Vectrus Systems won a $134.5 million modification for Kuwait base operations and security support services. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan. Vectrus Systems provides electronic, communication, and defense systems. The company offers composite aerospace structures, defense surveillance, mobile radar, networked communication, acoustic systems, and composite tanks. Exelis Systems serves the clients worldwide. Expected completion date is September 28, 2020.
Europe
Three major UK nuclear weapons and submarine infrastructure projects have been hit by 115% cost increases and faced delays of more than 19 months to over six years, according to the UK’s National Audit Office (NAO). In a report published on January 10, the spending watchdog revealed that more than two thirds of the GBP1.35 billion (USD1.76 billion) in cost overruns on UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) funded projects can be attributed to program management or commercial issues. The Ministry Of Defense’s “poor management” of Britain’s nuclear weapons program has led to rising costs and lengthy delays, according to the government spending watchdog. The report said that all of the projects were started before their full requirements or design maturity was settled, resulting in remedial activity costing GBP647 million. Other cost overruns were attributed to contractors’ failure to deliver to time or quality requirements (GBP87 million), changes to project management or commercial approach (GBP151 million), additional contractor fees (GBP114 million), unforeseen events (GBP11 million), and other factors (GBP339 million). The project to build the new Project Mensa nuclear warhead assembly and disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) operated site in Burghfield in Berkshire has run up GBP1.072 billion or 146% in extra costs since it was launched in 2011, according to the report. AWE is a partnership between Lockheed Martin, Jacobs Engineering, and Serco.
Asia-Pacific
The US State Department has approved a potential $2.75 billion Foreign Military Sale of Lockheed Martin F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) as well as associated spare parts, logistics, and training support to Singapore. DSCA also revealed that the proposed package includes up to 13 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines including one initial spare, unspecified electronic warfare, communications, and navigation systems, the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) maintenance and logistics planning suite, software development and integration, and training equipment. Singapore would be the fourth country in the Asia Pacific region to operate the F-35, after Australia, Japan, and South Korea – should the sale proceed. It would also represent a brand new STOVL capability for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), which has never operated such aircraft.
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