The new budget spotlights increased funding and ongoing investment needs in a number of sectors, including investments for armoured vehicles and soldiers’ equipment, plus increases to help modernize Norway’s navy. More information can be found in the full English release from Norway’s Fordvarsdepartementet.
Despite these apparent budget increases, the financial situation in the Norwegian armed forces remains dire. Many have pointed out the continuing imbalance between mission and resources, and have called for the revision of one or both of these factors to fix this situation. Recently, these issues came to a head…
General Electric Co. in Cincinnati, OH received a $61.2 million firm-fixed-price and fixed-quantity contract modification. This action provides for a newly redesigned high pressure compressor and high pressure turbine assemblies in GE’s F110 series engines, and newly redesigned engine upgrade components to support the service life extension plan and aging engine upgrade initiatives. This contract is part of a program designed to get 20 more years of operational life from the USA’s F-16 fleet. While the DefenseLINK release describes the engines as F100s, Pratt & Whitney’s F100 has become a less of a presence in the USA’s F-16 fleet, whose newer aircraft are generally equipped with the more powerful GE F110.
Work will be complete by December 2008. The Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, OK issued the contract (FA8104-05-C-0053/P00009).
Lockheed Martin Corp. in Fort Worth, TX received a $144 million firm-fixed-price and time and materials contract for 12 operational single place F-16C Block 52 aircraft and 6 operational two place F-16D Block 52+ aircraft. Aircraft purchases will be accomplished under the firm-fixed price portion of the contract, and $78.4 million has been obligated at this time. Work will be complete by November 2010. The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (FA8615-07-C-6031).
Those figures seem a touch under-valued – DID will pursue the matter with Lockheed and see if they can shine any light on the discrepancy. Note that this order is part of a larger $5.1 billion improvement and expansion of Pakistan’s F-16 force, which DID has covered in depth.
DID reader Pedro Lucio sends us an URL and partial translation from Spain, where the Ministers’ Council has authorized a contract for the integral maintenance of over 500 Spanish Navy diesel propulsion engines and generators. Navantia’s maintenance performance in 2005-2006 has apparently resulted in a EUR 49.5 million (about $66 million) contract to continue this work from 2007 through 2010. Here’s the URL, en Espanol.
Spanish reader Pedro Lucio sends us a report that Spain’s Ministers’ Council has authorized a contract with IVECO Spain S.L. to buy 79 heavy trucks for their Military Emegency Response group. The order covers 70 general 10-ton transport trucks, 8 derrick/ladder trucks, and a heavy tanker truck. The trucks will come with a number of advanced features, and the contract is worth EUR 16.3 million (about $21.7 million). See URL en Espanol.
