Now a QinetiQ executive observes that “On a number of occasions the MOD has stated that it spends the same amount [of money] administering its various battery contracts as it does buying in product.” Looks like QinetiQ will be doing something about that, too, via a a 2-year, GBP 4 million (currently about $7.9 million) contract from the UK MoD’s Combat Support Equipment Integrated Project Team (CSEIPT) to manage the supply of commercially available batteries. The contract includes an option for an additional 2 years, subject to satisfactory performance against key performance indicators. See QinetiQ’s release for more details.
Skyler Technologies Group subsidiary RSL Fiber Systems, LLC in Salem, New Jersey won a contract from Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, MS to supply the Advanced Lighting System (ALS) for the U.S. Navy’s forthcoming 14,500t DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class ‘destroyers’. The Advanced Lighting System has already been installed in several new US Navy ships, and in a conversation with DID, RSL Fiber systems estimated a total contract value is in excess of $12.5 Million for the six (6) DDG 1000 class ships planned. The estimated contract value for the two (2) DDG 1000 class ships already approved by Congress is in excess of $4.9 Million, and includes engineering support services and the supply of remote source lighting systems and related hardware.
Skyler actually acquired the RSL Assets of Winchester (a division of Northrop Grumman) on September 10, 2001, assuming control of the Office of Naval Research’s sponsored RSL ManTech Program, and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems’ LPD-17 San Antonio Class contract for associated lighting et. al.
Created through the collaboration of RSL Fiber Systems with fellow Skyler subsidiary C3I, Inc of Hampton, NH; and developed through the guidance of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and a number of U.S. Navy agencies, the ALS is a fully integrated system of lighting hardware and control equipment that can monitor and control fiber-optic based, LED, and conventional lighting throughout the ship, using the ship’s existing communication network. RSL technology uses fiber optics to separate the light emission point from the power and light source by up to 200 meters/ 670 feet. Multiple locations can also be illuminated from a single source, and light escape, infrared, and ultraviolet are drastically reduced – offering stealth, power, durability, and maintainability advantages over traditional lighting. See this November 2005 Power Point presentation for more [PDF].
More than 300 Piranha-I 6×6 Panzerjagers (tank hunters) armed with TOW missiles have been in service with the Swiss Army since the beginning of the 1990s. If the design looks familiar, it’s because MOWAG’s Piranha family of vehicles is produced in North America by parent firm General Dynamics Land Systems as the 8×8 LAV-II (USMC) or Stryker/LAV-III. MOWAG GmbH was already conducting a Panzerjaeger re-role program announced in January 2006, turning 40 into protected ambulance vehicles. Deliveries began at the end of 2006. Now the Swiss Ministry of Defence is moving ahead with a second program, another 160 of these vehicles will be converted to protected command vehicles ready for integration with the Swiss Army’s future Communication and Battle Management System (FIS HE). Deliveries will take place between 2008-2010.
Readers have looked at the photo we included below for the re-roled vehicles, and wondered at the absence of a raised roof and other features that normally distinguish command variants. DID has talked to MOWAG, and has some answers…
The Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas in Austin is being awarded a $20.3 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-01-D-6600). The money covers a 3-month extension to provide continued research, development, and test & evaluation capabilities for major mission product areas such as mines, fire control, undersea countermeasures, coastal/special warfare support, acoustic reconnaissance and search, special sensors, navigation, and communications. See their web site for details and examples.
Work will be performed in Austin, TX and is expected to be complete by March 2007. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC announced the original contract for $291 million/ 18,878 staff-months back on August 17, 2001.
