MBDA’s Scalp Cruise Missiles for French Navy

Scalp launch from FREMM

On December 29, 2006, MBDA has received a development and production contract from the French DGA(Delegation Generale pour l’Armement) defence procurement agency for 250 SCALP Naval land attack missiles. Scalp Naval/ MdCN cruise missiles are longer-range variants of the stealthy, air-launched Storm Shadow, with an expected reach of over 1,000 km/ 540 nautical miles. They are slated to equip the French Navy’s FREMM multi-mission frigates (200 missiles) and new SSN Barracuda Class submarines (50 missiles). The value of the contract is EUR 910 million (currently about $1.2 billion).

MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and Finmeccanica (25%). SCALP Naval production will be carried out in Selles Saint Denis, MBDA’s central region site in France. The contract is made up of 4 tranches, with the first tranche coming into force with this notification, and covering the delivery of 50 missiles for the FREMM frigates in 2013.

N.B. The land attack version of FREMM was shelved, but some French ships will carry the required Sylver A70 launchers.

$256M to N-G for E-10A

E-10 M2CA Concept

Northrop Grumman Corporation recently received a $256 million contract for the E-10A Multi-Sensor Command and Control aircraft (MC2) from USAir Force Material Command’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA. The contract covers design and analysis of the E-10A Technology Development Program (TDP) through Initial Design Review, which is scheduled for May 2007. See Northrop Grumman release.

So, what’s an E-10? For that matter, what’s an Initial Design Review all about? DID has answers…

Mantech Wins up to $156M to Support Counter-Mine Equipment et. al. within CENTCOM

ManTech International Corporation recently announced that it had received a contract in the Q4 2006 to support mine-clearing and other systems for the U.S. Army in numerous locations within Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The US Army Communications Electronics Life Cycle Command issued the he competitively awarded task order under a Rapid Response contract. ManTech is a lead subcontractor to VSE Corporation in Alexandria, VA, and the contract has a base-period and option-period, with a total potential value to ManTech of $159 million over 16 months. As IED land mines have proliferated in combat theaters, ManTech has built a strong competitive position in the area of maintaining route clearance and countermine equipment.

USAF Office of Scientific Research: Funding Process Basics

The US Air Force Office of Scientific Research sees its mission as providing U.S. warfighters with a technological edge in battle. Each year, they evaluate thousands of basic research proposals received from scientists and researchers worldwide, in competition for a portion of $400 million in funding Air Force Office of Scientific Research program managers manage on behalf of the Air Force and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

A recent DefenseLINK article offers a very basic outline of the granting and funding review process.