Titanium’s light weight, tremendous strength, and incredible heat-resistance makes it a very desirable metal for aircraft; indeed, fluctuations in its price have been cited as potential future cost issues for the F-35 Joint Strike fighter program and especially the F-22 Raptor. Even ultra-lightweight howitzers like the M777 use it. In 2005 Boeing was moving to secure access to titanium stock.
DID has recently noted the USA’s interest in streamlining its military supply chain, and also the growing role of RFID in that effort. Now the March 13, 2006 issue of RFID Journal tells the story of The National Center for Employment of the Disabled (NCED) in El Paso, Texas. The facility manufactures chemical-protection overgarments (CPOs), camouflage and dessert battle uniforms, hats and other accessories for the military.
NCED has hired the consultancy firm SAIC to help it adopt RFID in time to comply with an amendment to its defense supply contract. The company doesn’t plan to stop there;, however, it also plans to use RFID to automate the collection of data needed for inventory control, monitoring shelf-life for time sensitive components. Eventually, Phase 2 will see the RFID system expand to address internal process improvement and cost-reduction activities around automated order processing, production planning and work-in-progress manufacturing. Read the full story in RFID Journal.
Vericor Power Systems, LLC in Alpharetta, GA received a $28.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for the manufacture, testing and delivery of 20 ETF40B marine gas turbine engines and 4 Pack-Up Kit spare engines for the Landing Craft-Air Cushion Service Life Extension Program. Work will be performed at Standard Aero Energy in Winnipeg, Canada under a 2005 partnership agreement, and is expected to be complete by December 2008. The contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-06-D-4107).
The LCAC Hovercraft uses four engines per vessel (two engines for lift and two engines for propulsion), and these efforts are part of a larger program to refurbish the USA’s LCAC fleet…
Small business qualifier The Wexford Group International Inc. in Vienna, VA won a $17.9 million firm-fixed-price contract for Engineering Services and Support for the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, VA (60%), Vienna, VA (20%), and Iraq (20%), and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2006. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Dec. 20, 2005, and six bids were received by the U.S. Army Contracting Agency at White Sands Missile Range, NM (W9124Q-06-C-0123).
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, CT received a $16.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee delivery order against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00019-03-G-0003) for development efforts to complete the Link-16 Tactical Data Link (TDL) Full Scale Integration (FSI) of the US Navy’s new MH-60R Seahawk MMH and MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopters. DID has covered Link 16’s benefits before, and also noted a number of contracts connected to Link 16 integration in these new helicopters.
Work will be performed in Stratford, CT, and is expected to be complete in September 2007. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
The Defense Commissary Agency Contracting Business Unit at Fort Lee, VA recvently issued a pair of indefinite delivery requirements type contracts for delivery of paper grocery bags to commissaries. The contracts are for a base period starting on May 1, 2006 with a contract completion date of April 30, 2009. Three offers were received, and two awards were made.
Duro Bag Manufacturing Co. in Florence, KY won a $5.6 million contract for commissary locations in the Defense Commissary Agency, Western Region (HDEC05-06-D-0003).
Small business qualifier Ross and Wallace Paper Products Inc. in Hammond, LA won a $4.2 million contract for the Eastern Region commissaries (HDEC05-06-D-0002).
