Earth Tech, Long Beach, CA is being awarded a $4 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide for: work plan implementation, construction and engineering activities; repair; work to meet IAW technical and regulatory requirements; and handling all hazardous materials and waste IAW local requirements. The Air Force can issue deliver orders totaling up to the maximum amount indicated above, though actual requirements may necessitate less than this amount. Expected completion date is October 2006, and the Headquarters 311th Human Systems Wing is the contracting activity (FA8903-04-D-8671).
According to its Statement of Commander’s intent, the 311th is to be “the birthplace, home, and future of aerospace medicine.” It sits within the Brooks City-Base Project, an innovative joint partnership with the City of San Antonio, TX.
According to rumours printed in Space Daily Business News, a Lockheed Martin Corp. official claims the firm has won a $532 million contract to provide upgraded PAC-3 Patriot missile interceptors to the U.S. Army, the Netherlands, and Japan.
In an attempt to solve a problem that has plagued the Pentagon in the past couple of years, Northrop Grumman has its eyes set on a small patch of ground – the last 400 yards between a soldier and his target – as the place to pull transformation together. “I have tasked some of the best minds in my company to push forward our work in a wide spectrum of technologies – and associated tactics – that will take transformation to the street level,” said Northrop Grumman CEO Ron Sugar in his Feb. 15 speech at the National Press Club.
A request for off-loading equipment last summer by a member of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force operating in Southwest Asia has resulted in new equipment in-theater. Working with packaging and materiel experts as well as CH-47 crew members to shape the requirements and design concepts, the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. developed a field-expedient fix that met key criteria by using commercially-available conveyor rollers along with wooden ramp extensions, complementing existing off-load extensions. It was developed within 90 days, and 120 roller systems were sent to Southwest Asia after the evaluation. Another order of 60 is on the way. The system is an alternative to the Helicopter Internal Cargo Handling System (HICHS), which has some reported field drawbacks in certain situations and is also reported to have had availability issues.
The U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, has issued a Feb. 18, 2005 Final Ruling revising the Export Administration Regulations to allow staff and employees of certain organizations to use License Exception TMP to export basic communications equipment to Sudan for up to one year, to be used in the activities of those organizations to relieve human suffering. Coverage includes cell phones, personal computers, personal digital assistants, global positioning systems or similar satellite receivers and related software. Cryptome: Export of Communication Devices to Sudan
Lockheed Martin Corp. will acquire the SYSTEX Group for $462 million, according to a Lockheed Martin news release issued Feb. 18. SYSTEX specializes in engineering and systems integration; command, control, communications, computers and intelligence; information operations; network security; and integrated logistics and business management systems. The sale, which is subject to U.S. government approval, is expected to close in early 2005. Lockheed-Martin: Full News Release
