More Help for USN’s Financial Improvement Plan

The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk Detachment in Philadelphia, PA continues to issue cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contracts in support of the implementation of the Department of the Navy (DON) Financial Improvement Plan (FIP). These contracts were competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, and nine offers were received. The FIP is a corrective program designed to achieve an unqualified audit opinion for its Annual Financial Statements.

Initial contracts with a one-year value of $72.4 million were issued recently to SAIC and IBM Consulting, with options that could expand their combined total to $212.7 million over several years. These two contracts are cumulative with a combined $72.4 million in contracts issued on March 15, 2005 to Bearing Point and Deloitte Consulting LLP, with options that could raise their combined long-term value to $213.5 million.

USN, DARPA See Blimps & HULAs Rising

I Am The WALRUS?
(goo goo g’joob!)

Small business qualifier Integrated Systems Solutions Inc. in Pomfret, MD won a $64 million ceiling-priced cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract for research and development services to increase the government’s understanding of Lighter Than Air platforms and their usage for sensor technologies. Services to be provided include experimenting with outfitting commercial blimps with sensors and a tactical data link, equipping an airship with Electro Optics /Infrared /Hyperspectral cameras to provide all-weather, day-night surveillance, the use of an Advanced Airship Flying Laboratory to provide a flying laboratory for testing sensors, the use of high altitude airship surveillance, the creation of Hybrid Ultra Large Aircraft (HULA), and training of Test Pilots to fly airships.

The Race to Gallium Nitride

Defense Industry Daily has done a number of recent articles on R&D around Gallium Nitride semiconductors. The Boston Globe places these developments in a competitive context, noting the commercial advantages that various players in the defense industry stand to gain if they can make breakthroughs in this area.

Darpa’s research chiefs have identified gallium nitride as a critical material for future military applications not only in radar, but also in air-to-ground, air-to-satellite, and ground-to-ground communications systems. The technology is also useful in electronic warfare that involves protecting signals and jamming enemy signals. Nevertheless, improving the reliability of the materials and guaranteeing the availability of high-quality substrates for gallium nitride semiconductors offers significant technical challenges.

$31M to Up-Armor Heavy Tactical Trucks

HEMT Truck

Simula Aerospace & Defense Group Inc. in Phoenix, AZ received a $31 million modification to a firm-fixed-price sole-source contract for Crew Protection Kits for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) and Heavy Equipment Transporters. Both types of trucks are part of the U.S. Army’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV). Work will be performed in Phoenix, AZ and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2005. The U.S. Army Tank-Automobile and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., issued the contract (W56HZV-04-C-0259).

New TRUST Consortium Tackling Computer Security, Reliability

The U.S. National Science Foundation expects to provide almost $19 million in funding over five years to the TRUST (Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology) consortium. The aim of TRUST’s research is to create new technologies – and perhaps even new social institutions – that will make it possible to build computer software and networks that are inherently secure. “Security” here means not only protection against outside attacks, but also reliability of service and preservation of data.

Academic institutions involved are Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Mills College, San Jose State University, Smith College, Stanford University and Vanderbilt University. Industrial and other partners are Bellsouth, Cisco Systems, ESCHER (a research consortium that includes Boeing, General Motors and Raytheon), Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and Symantec.

Signal Symposium Cancelled

The 32nd annual Signal Symposium event drew about 3,000 military officials and private-sector contractors such as General Dynamics, Lockheed and Raytheon to Fort Gordon last year to discuss, observe and market military telecommunications technology. Now Fort Gordon Commander Gen. Jan Hicks has announced the cancellation of this year’s event, owing to cuts by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) so funds can be diverted to the front lines in Iraq.

The Signal Symposium adds an estimated $3.7 million to the local economy. Local officials at the Augusta Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau say they’ll fight to bring the trade show back to Augusta in Fall 2005, even if it means moving the symposium outside the post.