Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors – Tactical Systems in Eagan MN received a $28.1 million contract to install an air command and control (C2) system at Ali Air Base, an airbase located near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. The Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA manages the contract (FA8706-09-C-0004).
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will deliver a sector operation center (SOC), a SOC training suite, a ground-to-air transmitter and receiver (GATR) site, communication network infrastructure, and a long-range radar system…
Small business qualifier C.F. Roark Welding & Engineering Co. in Brownsburg, IN won a maximum $17.3 million firm fixed price, total set aside contract to supply aircraft exhaust ducts to the US Air Force.
There were originally 4 proposals solicited with 2 responses. The date of performance completion is July 31/13. The Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR-ZBAB) at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma manages the contract (SPRTA1-09-C-0169).
Defense Supply Center Richmond is Defense Logistics Agency’s aviation demand and supply chain manager…
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp. in Farmingdale, NY received a $47.5 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for electric valve operator (EVO) assemblies and associated technical data to replace existing EVO units and manifold bonnet assemblies used on JP-5 jet fuel storage tank manifolds.
The EVO assemblies are automated, sealed solenoid valves that operate the flow of jet fuel…
Scientific Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in San Diego, CA received a maximum $200 million option on a previously awarded prime vendor contract (SPM500-04-D-BP13) for management of consumable parts at U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft repair facilities.
Under the original Generation II (GEN II) Integrated Prime Vendor (IPV) contract awarded in 2004, SAIC serves as supply chain manager for parts to be used in the depot maintenance of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, including the F/A-18, P-3, EA6B, C-130, CH-46, CH-53, AV-8, E-2, and S-3. In addition, SAIC is providing support for depot overhaul and maintenance of aircraft subassemblies, engines, ground support equipment, avionics equipment, and other major items.
DID has more on the GEN II IPV contract and the Defense Logistics Agency’s effort to privatize logistics support…
Global Ground Support in Olathe, KS received a $15.4 million contract to provide deicers and support equipment for U.S. Air Force aircraft. Under the contract, Global Ground Support will deliver 196 deicer vehicles, 49 production vehicles, and 2 preproduction units to the Air Force. 642nd CBSG/GBKBB at Robins Air Force Base manages the contract (FA8533-09-D-9002).
Global Ground Support CEO Richard Smith was quoted in the Kansas City Business Journal as saying that the 196 deicers are mid-sized models that work for most Air Force aircraft. The other vehicles are much larger models used for deicing C-5 and C-17 aircraft, he said.
The contract is for 1 base year and has 4 one-year options. It replaces a previous 10-year contract that expired in June. The company has supplied 420 deicers to the Air Force in the past 10 years, he said.
DID has more on the Global Ground Support USAF deicers…
On Sept 9/08, the US DSCA announced [PDF] Finland’s official request for the 3rd phase of its F-18 Mid-Life Upgrade Program to modernize its 63 F/A-18C and F/A-18D Hornet aircraft. The contract could be worth up to $406 million, and Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, MO will be the prime contractor. Finland has already begun working to enhance its air force with LITENING targeting pods, modern AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder air-air missiles, and other enhancements. Items requested in this notice include:
The introduction of helmet mounted sights like the US-Israeli JHMCS and its F-35 successor the HMDS, Thales TopSight/TopOwl, Saab Cobra, et. al. have changed air combat. They’ve also changed the biodynamics of fighter cockpits, because they’re inevitably bulkier and heavier than the older helmets they replaced. During high-g fighter maneuvers – or worse, rocket-boosted ejections – that can become a problem. StrategyPage reports that the USAF has introduced a new neck muscle exercise machine in some air force gyms, in order to compensate.
Now Survival Innovations, Inc of Arden, NC received a contract for $6 million “to tailor development, integration and testing of a head and neck restraint system to provide improved head and neck injury protection within acceptable limits for the smaller anthropometric population range of fighter aircraft, thereby optimizing warfighter injury tolerance and protection during emergency escape.”
This is not necessarily about the development of a new ejection system, but rather about research that could benefit all aircraft ejection systems. At this time, all funds are already committed; Wright-Patterson AFB, OH is managing the contract (FA8650-08-C-6925).
Perhaps you’ve had this experience with your car. A warning light goes on intermittently, or another system doesn’t seem to operate reliably. The car goes in to the mechanic, where it may or may not display any symptoms. Repeat as required. Eventually, the dreaded diagnosis is given: electrical issues. The problem may or may not be consequential. The fix will be uncertain. The experience will be maddening.
For a military pilot and their maintenance crew, electrical issues are inherently more serious – but no less maddening. Few of us can afford to pay a mechanic for 24 hours of work in order to diagnose an electrical fault, but militaries often do so. Now consider the long-term effects on wiring from the constant airframe vibrations produced by high-energy turbines, and the buffeting produced by travel at several hundred miles per hour. Especially in a machine that may be 30 years old or more, while still possessing some of its original wiring.
As military aircraft fleets continue to age, wiring diagnosis and product improvements will be critical. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is beginning to introduce production innovations involving self-diagnostic wiring, but what about existing aircraft without a full wiring refit? Enter a US NAVAIR project, and a product made by Eclypse International.
Martin-Baker Aircraft Co., Ltd. in Middlesex, England make the rocket-boosted pilot seats used to get pilots out of their planes quickly, away from lethal impacts with a tail or wing, and if necessary, to a safe altitude for parachute deployment.
The firm recently received a $42.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0011), exercising an option for 178 Navy Aircrew Common Ejection Seats (NACES) including 78 for the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and E/A-18G Growlers; 12 seats for the US Marine Corps F/A-18A+ Hornets; 46 for the Government of Canada (upgraded F/A-18A+ Hornets); and 42 for the Government of Australia (same). The contract also covers 285 thermal batteries for the NACES, including 251 units for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 23 units for the Government of Finland (F/A-18C/Ds) and 11 units for the Government of Switzerland (F/A-18C/Ds). In addition, this contract provides for associated component parts and production support for the U.S. Navy production aircraft and the Governments of Canada and Australia.
In total, this contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, ($21.8 million; 51.69%; and the governments of Australia, ($9.7 million: 22.94%); Canada, ($10.6 million; 25.01%); Finland, ($102,632: 0.24%); and Switzerland, ($49,085: 0.12%) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Middlesex, England, (71.5%); Johnstown, PA (16%); Northridge, CA (7%); and Ronkonkoma, NY (5.5%), and work is expected to be completed in December 2009. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
Goodrich Corp. in Charlotte, NC received a $6.9 million firm-fixed-price contract for integrated vehicle health management system kits and associated hardware to support health monitoring for Iraq and Afghanistan deployed UH-60A/L Black Hawk helicopters. “Health monitoring” means proactive diagnostic equipment, aka. prognostics, that can tell maintenance personnel the status of key components, and eliminate guesswork about required maintenance and replacement. HUMS, Health & Usage Monitoring Systems, is also a common industry term.
Work will be performed in Vergennes, VT and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2008. This was a sole source contract initiated on April 17, 2007 by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-07-C-0142).
