Fractal Creep: New Digitized Camo Uniforms for USAF, USN, Jordan

King Abdullah II in KA2

Back on January 9, 2006, DID ran a very popular article discussing the growth of fractal camouflage patterns, including Canada’s trail-blazing CADPAT, the Marines MARPAT, and HyperStealth’s advanced digital KA2 camouflage pattern created for Jordan. HyperStealth had also developed technologies to apply these patterns to aircraft, vehicles, and buildings. Digital camoufalge is a definite trend.

Since then, DID has covered the US Army’s ACUPAT scheme and other improvements to the new Army Combat Uniform. Meanwhile, there are further developments. The US Navy now has a pixilated uniform based on MARPAT, approved and released in early March. The US Air Force has just released its Airman Battle Uniform, based on a slightly pixilated tiger stripe pattern. In Jordan, over 300,000 uniforms have now been produced in variants of HyperStealth’s digital KA2 pattern, including a new Civil Defense Directorate KA2 Blue/Grey digital pattern. Research into night/urban, vehicle and aircraft camouflage patterns is also continuing. Details follow…

$6M for Engineering Changes to Future EMALS Carrier Catapult Designs

CVN-21 Enhancements

General Atomics in San Diego, CA received a not-to-exceed $6 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N68335-04-C-0167) for acceptance and incorporation of two Engineering Change Proposals for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). DID has discussed the importance of the EMALS system to the USA’s new CVN-21 Class supercarriers, and to their long-term business case as well. General Atomics is the team lead.

These two proposed changes include one change for the Center Deck Display, and one for a revision to the Launch Control System Motor Controller. Work will be performed in Waltham, MA (80%), and San Diego, CA (20%), and is expected to be complete in April 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ issued the contract.

SAIC Employees Union Blogging its IPO

Back in September 2005, DID ran a story covering SAIC’s impending Initial Public Offering (IPO) as it transitioned from an employee-owned consultancy to a publicly-traded corporation. Now Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union has set up SAIC IPO Watch, a blog about the process. It intends to cover the likely cost of taking SAIC public, including a discussion of who might win and who might lose as a result of the IPO process; as well how the market might respond to a SAIC IPO and how that might impact employees shareholders. It looks interesting as an different point of view on the whole process, and the author(s) appear to be doing their research.

This is definitely a new wrinkle in the industry. SAIC has its own mini-site too, of course, for those who wish to read both viewpoints.

$25.4M for 25mm Ammo to Feed Mk.38 Naval Guns

Mk.38 on DDG 54

General Dynamics Ordnance & Tactical Systems in Marion, IL won an estimated $25.4 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for 25mm linked cartridges. Work will be performed in Marion, IL and is expected to be complete by March 2011. This contract was competitively procured with three proposals solicited and two offers received via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Crane, IN issued the contract (N00164-06-D-4237).

The 25mm cartridge linked configuration is fired from the M242 25mm chain gun in the Mk.38 deck-mounted Gun Weapon System, which can be found on board Navy and Coast Guard ships and patrol boats of all sizes. The Mk.38 system also comes packaged in a remotely-operated stabilized mount by Kollmorgen or by BAE/Rafael.

These autocannon weapons are referred to as “machine guns” by the Navy, and they may have been the “machine guns” used by the Ticonderoga Class cruiser USS Cape St. George [CG 71] and/or the Arleigh Burke Class destroyer USS Gonzalez [DDG 66] when they engaged and sank a 40 foot pirate boat off the coast of Somalia. The pirates had made the mistake of brandishing RPGs, firing on Navy personnel, and finally firing on the Navy ships themselves.