Soldiers in Iraq aren’t the only people using remote control vehicles to investigate suspicious activities without getting too close. Singapore just unveiled a fleet of two-ton Spartan Scout Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV), which Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean said would give the city-state a high-tech boost in the battle against maritime piracy and terrorism. “The USVs allow ships to deploy such a vessel without getting the men into too close contact with a suspicious boat, which may have undesirable intentions,” Teo told reporters after the demonstration.
The Spartan Scout is a 7-11 meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat that can operate by remote control as a modular, reconfigurable, multi-mission, high-speed, semi-autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) capable of carrying payloads of 3,000 pounds (7-meter) or 5,000 pounds (11-meter). At present they carry sensors, but plans are underway to test weaponized versions, including versions that could carry Hellfire or Javelin anti-armor missiles for use against targets or small craft.
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) on Behalf of the National Aerospace Leadership Initiative Consortium, is being awarded a $20.4 million contract to provide for National Center for Aerospace Leadership.
The center will focus on future technological advancements necessary to aid the region’s aerospace, aviation and defense manufacturing industries with the goal of providing new opportunities for industry and expanding job growth. The funding will be used for eventual construction of a facility as well as for programming within CCAT.
“Yesterday, I was “outside the wire,” patrolling with the 2nd Platoon. We came upon a possible IED in the middle of the road, and stopped all traffic to check it out… trying to figure out if the cardboard box in the middle of the road is merely a windblown piece of trash or a bomb planted there to kill us!
L3 Communications Link Simulation and Training in Arlington, TX is being awarded a $5.6 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N61339-00-C-0002) to conduct an engineering change proposal for a Display Upgrade Enhancement for the Suites of the Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) for the U.S. Army.
AVCATT-A creates a virtual wargaming world that provides an interactive, networked environment for individual, crew, collective and combined arms training that includes intelligent, semi-automated forces. These friendly and opposing forces support a highly competitive battle scenario that maximizes training effectiveness. Link’s SimuView PC image generation system provides computer generated images of the simulated battlespace, which pilots view through a helmet mounted display system.
The Titan Corporation [NYSE:TTN] entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Intelligence Data Systems, Inc. (IDS), a high-technology and professional services firm supporting the U.S. intelligence community, for $42.5 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 of 2005 and is expected to be neutral to accretive to 2005 earnings. Titan also recently announced its Q1 2005 earnings, reporting record revenues and backlog, and strong bookings.
Raytheon Co. in McKinney, TX won an $8.6 million firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose Electro/ Optic/ Infrared/ Laser Designator Program. The Advanced EO/IR/LD (Electro-Optic/ Infrared/ Laser Designator) payload is a lightweight, low-cost Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) system designed to enhance the capabilities of the U.S. Army’s Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV), which is part of the $120 billion+ Future Combat System program. Advanced EO/IR/LD provides improved stand-off distances and increased search rates for the TUAV, and addresses the need for iimproved target detection capability and target location accuracy.
Work will be performed in McKinney, TX and is expected to be complete by May 12, 2008. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the Internet on Feb. 1, 2005, and five bids were received. The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command in Fort Monmouth, NJ issued the contract (W15P7T-05-C-S604).
“Military intelligence-collection systems continue to be used in ways to benefit the joint war fighter. Yet even better means must be found for leveraging the vast amounts of collected data. Recent conflicts have underscored the need for improving intelligence collection at the tactical level while bolstering intelligence support for those in the fight. How can the flow of intelligence be improved to enhance situational awareness for the war fighter?”
Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems in Sealy, TX received a $6.6 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for Armor Cabs for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles Trucks. Work will be performed in Sealy, TX, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2005. This was a sole source contract initiated on April 29, 2005. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, MI issued the contract (W56HZV-04-C-0591). DID – FMTV-related Articles
